Magnus goes to School
by MajorSam
Summary: Helen Magnus tries to have a "normal" weekend away. Like that could ever happen. Helen/Charlotte. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:** This takes place after the Season 4 finale. It also makes reference to my previous Helen/Charlotte fics, "Hang Out" and "Love Potion Number 9" – You don't have to have read them, but it really will help. It seems I'm creating a whole lovely continuing timeline following the developing relationship between these two! It started off as a "Oh hey, wouldn't that be a fun/cute little fic" idea, that turned into the longest single piece I've ever written… … Woopsies!

Please note I have never been to Yale, or New Haven, or in fact anywhere close to that area. While I try to do all the research I can, all places and people I mention are fabrications of my own mind! (Scary, I know!) I apologize for any glaring errors in demographic/geography of New Haven, etc.

Thanks go to MidWifeOnBoard for beta'ing this mess of a chapter, and to NoCleverSig for the unending support.

Heeeeere we go!

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**Magnus goes to School**

**By MajorSam**

The professor was completely unaware that she was being watched. The figure was hidden from view, anonymous in a lecture hall filled to the brim with eager young undergrads. The professor normally wouldn't be teaching such a class. Being the co-chair of the department she worked with PhD candidates, in much smaller settings. She wasn't even supposed to be at the University today, but the professor in charge of the class had caught food poisoning and begged her to substitute for him. She'd agreed after being promised a nice bottle of red. The watcher hadn't been pleased when they showed up at the professor's apartment only to find it empty, so instead quickly tracked her back to the University, slipping into the hall mere minutes before the class started. The watcher stayed still, chest barely moving with deep, controlled breaths, eyes wide, shrewd, and observing. The professor spoke with a confidence born from years of experience, and a knowledge base that continued to grow and prosper. The watcher knew they had chosen wisely, and grinned in anticipation. The watcher knew this was the professor's only lecture of the day. Not only that, it was the first class of the morning, and a Friday. Once over, the professor would be not be expected back at the University until Monday. The watcher could make a move, and no one would be the wiser. No one would notice the professor was gone.

The watcher observed as Dr. Charlotte Benoit suddenly frowned, stretching her back minutely as if trying to banish an uncomfortable shiver. She paused, glancing quickly across the crowd of the lecture hall. Around the watcher, the faces of the students started to furrow in confusion at the sudden silence. The teacher cleared her throat, resisting the urge to rub the skin of her arms to banish the goosebumps.

"Anyway, as I was saying…" she continued her lecture.

For two hours the watcher waited, taking in every detail of the professor. The tall woman was clad in a crisp, white blouse, an elegant brown skirt that brushed the top of her knees, and nude heels, but no stockings. It was early September but New Haven was suffering an Indian summer, and the temperature hovered around 81®. Air conditioning blew gently through vents circling the floor and ceiling, but with 300 students crowded in, the hall was even warmer than outside. The professor was barely perspiring, used to the heat, the picture of control.

The watcher grinned again. The professor wouldn't be in control for long.

At 10am sharp, Professor Benoit happily dismissed her class, hoping that at least some of them might start their reports that evening. It wasn't her class, but she still wanted them to succeed. She had a pretty good eye for future PhD's, and a few of the young students had caught her attention. She'd have to let Professor Wilkinson know to keep them in mind. Charlotte Benoit was never one to play favourites, but being aware of potential was a necessary component to teaching.

The Doctor smiled as her students filed out, wishing their temporary professor a good day, or a good weekend. The class had gone well. It was a bit of an adjustment, moving from a PhD class of a few, focused individuals to a large group of kids barely out of high school, but they'd done well. Even so, her smile was strained, as the uneasy feeling she hadn't been able to shake started to grow stronger. She could have sworn that throughout the lecture she could feel eyes on her. Not the dull, strained eyes of an 18 year old student at 8am on a Friday, wishing for the weekend, (as she was) but the keen eyes of someone who saw beyond what regular people see. Who looked not at a person, but into them.

Someone in this room didn't belong. She carefully watched each student go by, searching for anyone that shouldn't be there. Since her adventure on Grand Comore, the virologist's eyes had been opened to anything that seemed out of place, potential dangers, and new people. Not to say she was paranoid, just… aware. She'd enrolled herself in a self-defense class, and had even toyed with the idea of taking a gun course. She'd wanted to contact Helen Magnus and ask for advice, but had felt foolish as soon as she picked up the phone to dial. Charlotte still couldn't understand why Magnus would be at all interested in her. She didn't want to call the older woman and blather childishly about wanting to know how to hold a gun. Right at that moment, however, she wished she had.

The last student left the room with a "Thanks for subbing," and suddenly Charlotte was alone. The door to the hall closed with an ominous _click_, and her sense of danger skyrocketed. She heard a noise behind her, and her body tensed. Unconsciously holding her breath, Charlotte steeled herself for whatever she was about to face, and whirled around.

There was no one there.

Frowning, she slowly scanned the hall. Still nothing. She heard the noise again, this time off to her left, by the door. She turned sharply, but there was only the door, quietly standing guard. Through its square window she could see short bursts of people walking past, going about their day. She heard the noise, behind her once more. Her heart was hammering, her breath was becoming least she had plans that night. If she didn't show up, someone would know. They'd start looking for her.

_Stay in control, Charlotte, keep calm._ She reprimanded herself. She stayed still for a minute, closing her eyes, straining her ears to try pinpoint the location of the noise, but there was only silence. Was she just being paranoid? She'd been extremely busy with work lately; maybe the stress was getting to her. God she could use a few days off. Thinking of her plans for the evening, the professor gave a small smile. At least she could look forward to that. Oh, who was she kidding? She was dreading the evening, but it still provided a safety net for her current circumstances.

Out of the silence she suddenly heard a loud thud, as if someone had dropped a hefty biology textbook. Her body froze. Not paranoid after all. With a sense of dread, she turned to face her unseen pursuer.

The professor's breath left her in a loud gasp as her jaw dropped and her eyes went wide.

"Helen!"

Helen Magnus, perched delicately atop Charlotte's desk, burst into laughter.

"Dear God Charlotte, you should see your face!"

The professor went red, clamping her jaw shut.

"I'm sorry," Magnus continued to say between spurts of laughter. "I couldn't help it. You look adorable when you're suspicious."

Charlotte crossed her arms defensively and glared at the precocious brunette.

"You think it's funny, do you, stalking people?"

Magnus snorted and nodded.

"Scaring poor innocents? Inciting paranoia? Make them afraid that at any second some rabid monster might jump out at them from behind a chair?" Charlotte started towards her desk.

"I'd hardly call you an innocent," Magnus smirked.

Charlotte cocked an eyebrow as she continued her approach. She stopped a few feet in front of Magnus, arms still crossed. She was leaning back on one arm, the other gently placed on the thigh of a demurely crossed leg. Charlotte's eyes dropped to Magnus' feet, and slowly, she raked her gaze upwards. Black, 4 inch heels gave way long expanses of leg. Several inches above the knee was a black skirt. A dark purple blouse with the sleeves rolled to the elbow was loosely tucked into the waist band. Not two but three buttons were undone. Magnus could still walk down the hall of Yale University and look professional, but up close… Charlotte kept her eyes on the hint of flesh revealed between the blouse's undone buttons as she walked the rest of the way to Helen.

"Ok, maybe not so innocent," Charlotte admitted. Magnus grinned, smugly.

"Tease," Charlotte accused.

"Me?" Magnus replied, her eyes wide.

Charlotte glared again.

"Are there cameras in this hall?" Magnus asked off-handedly.

Charlotte frowned. "Cameras? Um, I'm not sure. The new facilities all have them of course, but this is one of the older halls. I don't think it's been updated yet, no. Why do you ask?"

Magnus smiled affectionately at her. "Still a bit of innocence after all," she said wistfully, before reaching forward, grabbing Charlotte by the collar, and pulling the professor towards her.

Charlotte felt her knees go weak as soon as she felt Helen's lips on hers, reaching out blindly to grasp the edge of her desk. After steadying herself, Charlotte took hold of Helen's knees, trying to force them apart so she could step between and get closer to her. She huffed in frustration as Helen's legs resisted. Magnus pulled back, taking in a quick breath before suddenly hopping down from the desk. Charlotte took a surprised step back, recovering quickly and leaning forward to reclaim her lips. Instead she encountered a hand.

"Not so fast," Helen said, smiling widely. She placed her hands on Charlotte's hips, and slowly turned them around so that Charlotte's back bumped against the edge of the desk.

"Your skirt's less restrictive," Magnus explained, before clamping her hands down on Charlotte's hips, and lifting up. With a surprised yelp, Charlotte landed on top her desk, and her binder of notes for the class tumbled to the floor.

Outside in the hall, Shay Westall frowned and stopped mid-step. He looked around at his fellow students. Had no-one else heard that crashing noise? He looked to his right, seeing he was almost at the door to a lecture hall. He mentally rifled through the school map and class schedule. Dr. Benoit had just finished a lecture in there, hadn't she? Worried she might have been cleaning up and somehow hurt herself, Shay strode quickly to the door. His hand grasped the handle as he worriedly peered in through the small window.

His hand froze and his breath left him in a gasp.

Yes, Dr. Benoit was still in there. But she had most certainly _not_ been hurt. Shay stared, transfixed, as a _hot_ brown-haired woman made out with his virology teacher, balanced atop her desk. Unable to move, he watched as his professor buried a hand in the woman's long, thick hair while the other slid down the woman's side to run over her fine looking behind. Shay felt his head get light, blood rushing southward as shock numbed him. In the next moment he felt himself stumbling sideways.

"Hey," said Zach Green, the friend who'd just nudged him. "What are you staring at?"

"Nothing!" Shay swore, wincing at his high-pitched voice.

Zach snorted. "Right, ok, nothing. You were staring like you were witnessing a super nova!" He moved towards the window.

"I wouldn't do that," Shay warned, trying to grab his shoulders and shove him away, but it was too late.

Zach's eyes went wide. He stood still for a moment before turning around, very slowly. "Well that's interesting," he said.

"Told you not to look," Shay mumbled. Was his face heating up?

"Uh…" Zach replied.

"Can we just… pretend we never saw that?" Shay suggested.

Zach contemplated for a moment, before nodding. "Sure. It never happened."

Who would believe them, anyway? Sure, some of the students gossiped about their professor's love lives, and Dr. Benoit didn't wear any rings, but who could have ever guessed that she was into… Hadn't she been dating Professor Calloway for a while? He was certainly a man. Shay shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He focused on Zach, seeing a distant look in his eyes.

"I think I'm going to head out," said Shay, nodding his head toward the end of the hall. "I've got some, uh… homework to do."

"Yeah me too," nodded Zach. "An essay."

The friends nodded farewell, and took off down opposite sides of the hallway. Not to homework, but to their dorms, and cold, cold showers.

Back in the lecture hall, Charlotte fought to suppress a moan as Helen's hands, wrapped around her, gently massaging Charlotte's shoulders. Charlotte didn't notice when one of the hands left her shoulder. Suddenly, there was a warm hand on Charlotte's knee, sliding up her brown skirt.

"I've had professors before," Helen confessed in a low voice, "But never one from Yale."

"Helen!" Charlotte squeaked as Helen pinched the skin of her inner thigh, continuing upwards. "What if someone sees us?"

"Hmm?" Helen's lips left hers, travelling down Charlotte's cheek, jaw, to her neck.

"A student… could, you know…" Charlotte struggled to find words. "Report us!"

"Report us to whom, exactly?"

"Dr. Levin, the Dean!"

"Oh don't you worry about him," Helen replied with a sly smile.

Charlotte's eyes went wide. "Please tell me you haven't slept with my boss!"

Helen pulled away from Charlotte's neck indignantly. "Charlotte! I said I've slept with _some_ professors, not all of them!"

"I mean, I don't know of Dr. Levin was some stud 40 years ago, but…"

"Charlotte," Helen said firmly. "I have not had any kind of sexual encounter with your boss, at any time recent or long past."

"Then what do you mean by 'don't worry about him'?"

Helen huffed. "What are you accusing me of? You think I have to use my feminine wiles in order to achieve anything? I can't simply have a colleague who owes me a favour or two?"

Charlotte still felt that something was fishy. She also knew she'd probably never get the full story.

"Are we going to continue arguing?" Helen sighed. "Because while I do love seeing you get riled up, I haven't seen you in four very long months. I'd much rather kiss you right now."

Ok, Charlotte could see her point. She nodded. Helen smiled. They kissed.

In the hallway, Amber Williams shuffled along, books clasped tightly to her chest. She couldn't believe she'd forgotten to give Professor B. her paper! How many years had she been at this school, and never forgotten to hand in an assignment? Amber, a regular student of Charlotte's and a member of her PhD group, had taken a particular interest to the interaction of viruses on an already compromised immune system. She was creating a proposal for a study involving volunteer participants with auto-immune diseases, and Dr. Benoit had offered to help her with it. The professor had said she might even have time to look over it during the weekend!

Amber arrived at her destination door and distractedly knocked on the hard wood, looking over the papers in her hand and making sure they were in order. When no one answered, she frowned and knocked again. At 5'1, she wasn't the tallest 25 year old around, so she had to stretch upwards to look through the window. All she saw was a quick blur of brown hair before the door opened.

"Amber!" exclaimed Professor Benoit, breathlessly, a large smile plastered on her face. Amber, too caught up in her anxiety at having forgotten to hand in her paper earlier, didn't notice the flush to her teacher's face, or the muss to her hair. Or the fact that her blouse was un-tucked.

"Hi Dr. B! I'm sorry for disturbing you, but I completely forgot to give you my proposal after class yesterday!"

Charlotte stared blankly at her student. The door opened wider, and a woman Amber didn't recognize stepped forward.

"Proposal?" she asked in a British accent, shocking Charlotte out of her momentary stupor.

"Right! Your proposal!" Dr. Benoit said, reaching out her hand.

"Thank you so much for helping me with this Dr. B," Amber babbled excitedly. Magnus looked on, amused and rather nostalgic as the enthusiastic youth spouted off some of her ideas for the study. She seemed a bit jumpy for her age, but looked smart. Magnus stayed still as she let her eyes drift to look at Charlotte, seeing the way she focused in on her student, getting carried away by her enthusiasm. To avoid getting caught reminiscing, Helen let a different feeling take over.

Mischief.

While Charlotte nodded and occasionally hummed in acknowledgment, Helen leaned forward as if to look over the proposal herself. Her chest pressed gently against Charlotte's back and shoulder as she moved in. She felt Charlotte tense. Very slowly, Helen raised her left arm, sneaking it under Charlotte's un-tucked shirt and settling against the small of her back, softly drawing lazy patterns. Crowded near the doorway as they were, no one in the hall would be able to see the contact, but Helen's long fingers burned against Charlotte's skin. The professor swallowed roughly.

"Amber," she said, cutting the young woman off. "It looks like this could shape up to be an excellent study. But unfortunately Dr. Magnus here has travelled a long way for our meeting this afternoon, and I'm going to have to get back to that now."

Amber started, having completely forgotten about the other person there. She glanced up at the statuesque brunette standing behind her professor. Amber frowned a bit upon seeing the bright blue eyes, the lush hair, and the tall figure. She quickly shook off her thoughts. It was ok to be short, it was! Height didn't make a different to how smart someone could be. Neither did looks. She didn't have to be tall or gorgeous to get the best damn mark in her course.

Amber nodded at her professor. "Ok, right, sorry! I know I get carried away sometimes. I have to get to my next class, anyway. Have a nice weekend!"

"Oh, she will," Dr. Magnus replied, quickly shutting the door as Amber stepped back. Amber's smile faltered as she turned and started walking down the hallway. That was weird. Why had that doctor woman replied for Professor B? And what was that look on her face when she closed the door? Once again, Amber shook her thoughts clear. It didn't matter. Time for chemistry!

"Helen!" Charlotte admonished, reaching behind her back, grabbing Helen's hand, and removing it, turning around to face Magnus head on.

"What?"

"That was..."

"Was what?"

"Rude!"

"Oh come off it. These young people need to be shaken up every now and then."

"Your hand was up my shirt!"

"She didn't seem to notice."

"What if she did?"

"She didn't. She was much too wrapped up in her project. Believe me, I know how little else people see when they're focused on the experiment at hand."

The image of Nikola Tesla suddenly popped into Charlotte's mind. "Yes, I suppose you do."

"I'm never going to be able to think of this room in the same way again," Charlotte groused, happy that she rarely lectured there. Looking towards the desk, she saw several books scattered on the floor. Shaking her head she walked towards them, and knelt down to pick up the debris. Helen knelt down beside her to help, looking anything but contrite. Once her desk had regained some semblance of order, Charlotte leaned back against it, crossing one ankle over the other.

"So what are you doing here anyway?" she asked.

"A girl can't just drop in for a surprise visit?"

"Well I'd hardly classify you as a 'girl', and no, I don't see you as just dropping by as a surprise."

"You randomly showed up at my Sanctuary."

"You gave me your card, remember? Address included?"

"Yale isn't very hard to look up. Or maybe I was just in the neighbourhood."

Charlotte pursed her lips, trying to glean Helen's agenda by simply looking at her. It was no good. The woman had her poker face down to an art.

"Look, Charlotte, let's just accept that I'm here, alright?"

Charlotte bowed her head. "Ok, I'm sorry. It's not that I'm not happy to see you."

"I hope you are," Helen said softly.

Charlotte looked up at her. "Of course I am."

Helen leaned in and kissed her gently. "I missed you," she admitted. With the destruction of her home, and subsequent unveiling of her _new_ Sanctuary, Magnus and her team were still getting accustomed to operating from underground. The degree of public awareness about the existence of abnormals had gone through the roof since the same time last year, and with the new knowledge, a host of problems had arisen. But that was work, and Magnus didn't want to think about that right now.

"I missed you too," said Charlotte. The women exchanged emails, phone calls, or Skyped as often as they could, but it was nothing compared to seeing each other in person, being able to see, smell, and touch.

"Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?" Magnus inquired.

"I only had the one class this morning, so my afternoon is free…" Charlotte paused.

"Only your afternoon?" Helen slowly asked.

"Uh, yeah, see… some colleagues and I actually have plans tonight."

"Plans?"

"Yeah. Every so often, for special occasions or something we go to a place called The Raven. It's just a pub, nothing special, but it's the local haunt, so…"

"What's the occasion tonight?"

Charlotte winced. "It's, um…"

Magnus frowned, not hearing the mumbled end of her sentence.

"I'm sorry?"

"It's my birthday, ok?" Charlotte said quickly, looking anywhere but at Magnus.

"Is it now," Helen said thoughtfully, crossing her arms.

Charlotte dared to look back at her and was suddenly caught up in her lover's luminous blue eyes. Realization dawned slowly.

"You knew!" Charlotte cried.

Magnus' eyebrows flew to her hairline. "Knew what?"

"This really is a surprise visit, isn't it? A birthday present?" A wide grin spread across Charlotte's face, she suddenly felt very warm inside.

Magnus shrugged. "You caught me."

Charlotte laughed and jumped forward, gathering Helen in her arms and squeezing her tight. After several long moments she pulled back, beaming.

"Best birthday present ever!" she declared.

"Oh I think I can make it better still," Helen promised with a lascivious smile, moving in for a kiss. Charlotte thwarted her.

"Nope. No more here at school." She started gathering her personal belongings.

"Thank god your apartment is only a 15 minute walk away! A lovely walk, too. I have a fondness for Elm trees."

Charlotte hesitated and looked up at Helen. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped.

"I don't even want to know how much you know about my life," she finally told the older woman.

"I only look these things up because I care, my dear," Helen promised.

"Mmhmm. For all I know you could have satellite surveillance peering through my bedroom window."

"If I do, it's only to ensure you're safely tucked in at night."

Charlotte shook her head in wonderment. "I don't know about you sometimes. I think you need a new hobby."

"Yes, the abnormals do give me so much free time for hobbies. It gets terribly boring."

Charlotte sobered for a moment. "How did you get away, anyway? How long do you have here?"

"I'm here for the whole weekend. As to how I finally managed to get away… let's not talk about that."

"I sense Will has an exciting weekend in store for him."

Helen chuckled. "Probably. But so do we."

"You have plans for me, then?"

"You could say that," Helen winked. "But for right now, I was thinking lunch. My treat."

"It's only 10:30 in the morning."

"Brunch, then. Elevensies?"

Charlotte's mouth quirked up. "Elevensies? Are you following the meal plan of a Hobbit now?"

"One of my favourite ideas of Tolkien. Such a charming concept."

"And let me guess… he was a good buddy of yours? Called you up to help him with the ideas for orcs and goblins?"

"There have been myths of such creatures throughout all time, Charlotte," Helen said, opening the door and pointing her hand out to let Charlotte know she was holding it open for her. "He only wanted me to help him with the finer details."

Charlotte shook her head as she walked past. "Right. Of course."

The women's banter continued all through the sunny walk to Charlotte's modest apartment. The professor wanted to drop off her work bag before heading to lunch.

So caught up in their repartee, neither woman noticed the man sitting on the park bench outside of Charlotte's apartment. They passed by him and entered the building, oblivious to his penetrating stare. As the doors closed behind them, he quickly looked down at the notepad in front of him, and started writing.

The watcher had become the watched.

_To be continued… _


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:** This chapter involves a small section of "M" rated material! You'll see it comin… if you don't like that sort of thing, just skip down a few paragraphs and continue from there! You won't miss any vital information, just some fluff!

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Magnus looked around Charlotte's apartment with interest, finally gaining some insight into the private world of Charlotte Benoit. A small end table rested against the left wall of the entry. Charlotte quickly dropped her books onto it, rushing into the kitchen area that was a few feet forward and to the right. Opposite the kitchen was a small hallway leading off to the left.

"I wasn't expecting company," she said bashfully, grabbing a stray glass and small plate, stuffing them into the little dishwasher.

"It's lovely," Helen assured her. "I never showed you some of the lower levels of the Sanctuary. You want to talk about messy homes…"

"Yeah but you have crazy creatures living there. I don't have that excuse! It's just little 'ole, human me."

Magnus suddenly wondered how long Charlotte had been living here, alone. She had done a background check, of course, but hadn't wanted to pry very far. She would much rather learn about Charlotte the way normal people did, over time, as trust grew. She wondered if Charlotte ever brought men here. How many, how often, who they were… Magnus caught her jealous thoughts and quickly snuffed them, concentrating on her tall hostess.

"Quick tour before we head to lunch?" Charlotte offered. Magnus smiled and nodded.

"Well, this is the kitchen. Obviously."

Magnus noticed the lack of a coffee maker, and gave praise, making Charlotte laugh.

"Well I do admit I get coffee every now and then from the on campus café…" she said, chewing her lip worriedly. Magnus frowned.

"Well… I suppose I can't fault you for that. Not too much, at least. I've done some teaching in my time, and the lifestyle does often drive one to search for energy stimulants. Abnormals have nothing on adolescents."

Charlotte's eyebrows lifted. "Wow. I admit I drink coffee, and you forgive me. You must have missed me a lot."

"Just don't expect a kiss any time after you imbibe."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Charlotte left the kitchen area, sweeping her arm in a grand gesture.

"My living room!"

Up against the overhanging kitchen counter were two bar stools, tucked in. A comfortable looking, modern gray couch was pushed against the far right wall. A large window started just over the headrest and spanned the whole wall. A modest view of the park could be seen, and the Indian summer sun was shining in. A love seat sat against the far wall, while a flat screen TV which stood on a long, low stand dominated the left wall. A coffee table rested in the center of the room. The furnishings were simple and modern, with a few coloured pillows on the couch as well as an orange throw blanket giving a pop of vibrancy and comfort. Magnus decided it fit the successful but modest professor very well.

"It's lovely," Magnus repeated. Charlotte smiled shyly and grabbed Helen's hand, leading her down the hallway. A door on the right led to a small den, made up as an office with a large desk and comfortable chair in front of another large window. Thin bookshelves flanked the desk, filled to the brim. A few feet further down the hallway, also on the right side, was a small linen closet. Finally, Charlotte led Helen into the master bedroom. Larger than Magnus had expected, a queen sized bed was centered against the far wall and a dresser lay opposite. The far wall was pure glass, with a sliding door leading to a small balcony. The bathroom door was in the far right corner of the room. Helen wondered if Charlotte had a telephone-shower head. Warmth spread to her core, remembering the bathroom in the villa on Grand Comore. She quickly changed the path of her thoughts.

Charlotte was silent as Magnus looked around, the older woman wandering over and opening the door to the balcony, stepping out. She took a deep breath of air, and then turned back to Charlotte.

"Let's go for lunch," Magnus declared. "Because if we don't leave now, I'm going to throw you on that bed of yours."

"Doesn't sound too bad to me," Charlotte said perkily.

"Out, out you minx!" Helen cried, pushing Charlotte down the hallway.

Charlotte sighed and leaned back as the waiter carried their empty plates away.

"Well that was amazing," she said appreciatively. "I've lived here for ten years and didn't know this place existed!"

"I admit I have a knack for finding the little gems like this one," Magnus nodded. "So many of the smaller, humble places are hidden treasures, waiting to be found, kept secret by those who have already discovered them."

"That's almost poetic."

"After all the years I've lived, food is really the only thing that can, without fail, give comfort. Be there wars, heartache or pain, a good cup of tea, hot soup, or whatever your fancy is, can be salvation. One of the things I'm thankful for, having lived so long, is being able to see global food culture grow. Countries are starting to embrace other kinds of food, and the ceremonies that go along with it."

"Seeing MacDonald's sweep the world…"

Magnus cringed. "Please don't get me started on processed, fast foods and pre-made, frozen dinners…"

"I'll be sure to clear out my freezer before you have a change to look in it."

"I appreciate it."

"You know," Charlotte said, running her thumb along the side of her water glass, "I haven't been taken out on a birthday date in years."

Helen paused with her own water glass halfway to her lips. She placed it down, slowly.

"We're not really dating, though…are we?" she said cautiously.

"Oh!" said Charlotte, alarmed. "I didn't mean to imply… I mean… I know we're just keeping things on a visit to visit basis or whatever, I just meant…"

"It's fine," Helen interjected, not wanting to ruin the pleasant atmosphere of their lunch. "I understand what you meant. I'm happy to be the one to take you out."

"Friends go on dates too, you know."

Helen sighed, wanting to drop the subject. "Yes, they do. But we're not exactly friends either." She was suddenly frustrated. She didn't want to label their relationship, classify it as only one thing or another. She liked their arrangement, just enjoying time with each other when they could. She was suddenly worried that Charlotte was having a harder time with it than she let on.

"We could just call it a girls' day out, though," Charlotte continued. "That could be okay."

Helen reached out and covered one of Charlotte's hands with her own.

"Charlotte," she said, prompting brown eyes up to meet her blues. "We can call it a date, if you want. I don't mind. It is your birthday after all; I have to cater to your every whim, don't I?"

Charlotte's lips curled upward. "I like the thought of that."

Helen squeezed her hand.

"But we don't have to call it a date. Girls' day out is fine."

"I haven't had a girls' day in a long time," Helen said, wondering what "girls' day" meant to a modern American woman. She certainly knew how to entertain a lady, of course, but she didn't think that's what Charlotte had meant. She decided to try lightening the mood. "Are we to paint each other's nails and have pillow fights?"

Charlotte laughed out loud. "Well that's more for the younger girls. You know, teenagers."

"I _am_ a bit past that age." Helen wrinkled her nose.

"Women of our such esteemed age are more likely to get manicures and pedicures."

Helen let go of Charlotte's hand and looked down at her nails. Perfectly trimmed and polished, as always. Charlotte glanced down at them.

"How do you keep your nails so perfect all the time?" she asked. "I've always wondered. All the crazy work you do, yet your nails are always pristine."

"One of my little secrets," said Magnus coyly.

"So many dark secrets and _this_ is what you won't let me in on?"

"Beauty secrets have been fiercely protected for millennia," Helen defended.

"All right, all right, I resign myself to the fact I'll have dirty, chipped nails for the rest of my life."

"It's ok dear, I'll still love you with dirty fingernails."

Charlotte's eyes went wide.

"You'll still what?" she breathed.

Helen frowned, thinking over what she'd just said.

Oh…

"I, um…" she found herself floundering with no idea what to say. Had she meant it, truly _meant_ it, or was it just one of those phrases that are used jokingly, or just endearingly, at times like this?

"It's ok, let's just forget about it," Charlotte said quickly, fighting the heat she felt rising in her face.

Magnus coughed. "I can do that." She wasn't usually one to avoid important issues like this, but didn't think the time was right for a talk about _that_ subject.

"So… pillow fights?" said Charlotte, giving Magnus the perfect opening for her next words.

"I believe we have to go back to your place for that."

The first few minutes of their walk back to Charlotte's was awkward, both women trying very hard not to think about Magnus' slip up. With a frustrated sigh, Helen finally reached out and took Charlotte's hand in hers, tugging her to a stop. Helen framed Charlotte's face with her hands and kissed her firmly.

"Mmph, Helen!" Charlotte protested, pushing her away and looking around worriedly. People walked by, not paying them any attention beyond a passing look, and she started to relax. She didn't take any notice of the man across the street who casually glanced at them while he walked the opposite direction. She didn't see him turn a corner, take out a notebook, and write something down.

"If you want to talk about it, we can. Later," Helen promised. "But for now I'd rather just enjoy your birthday and our time together. Please tell me I haven't ruined that?"

Charlotte cast her eyes downwards. "No, you haven't. It's my fault, I fixated it on it." She looked up at Helen. "I'm sorry for being ridiculous about it."

"You're not being ridiculous."

"I am. I'll try my best to stop."

Helen smiled softly. "I'll try my best to distract you."

Charlotte smiled back. "That sounds promising."

When they started walking again, Charlotte reached out and took Helen's hand, holding it for the rest of the walk back.

When they entered Charlotte's apartment, however, they were both surprised to find themselves reluctant to head straight to the bedroom, as they would have expected. The tenuous grasp they had on what their relationship really was had been shaken. The foundation needed to be repaired.

"What time are your party plans tonight?" Helen asked after taking off her shoes and making sure they were symmetrically lined up on the little shoe mat underneath the side table.

"It's hardly a party," Charlotte protested, "There will only be a few of us. Not too many of the staff are big into going out, and lately some of them have been acting even more aloof than usual. But to answer your question, it's not till 9."

"Rather late for a bunch of stuffy professors," Helen teased.

"Hey now. Some of them have private tutoring until that late!"

"Well lucky for us. We have more time now."

Charlotte nodded, standing awkwardly between Helen and the kitchen.

"So… what do you want to do?" she asked, suddenly embarrassed by her poor performance as a hostess. Surprise visits were great, but they certainly threw one for a loop.

Helen, who usually had her schedule planned out to the minute, also felt herself at somewhat of a loss. She'd thought she'd had plans when she was flying over to surprise her lover, but now that she was here, with Charlotte, in her home, she wasn't quite sure how to proceed. Helen Magnus wasn't often out of sorts, but the prospect of having a normal, weekend off with a lover was completely foreign. Oh, she'd had many a grand weekend affair, but with Charlotte she felt a pull towards more than just sex. She actually wanted to spend time getting to know her, just being with her. The thought was frightening on many levels. While she usually faced problems head on, she found herself once again wanting to ignore the elephant in the room. She found herself making a proposition she rarely, if ever, did.

"Want to just watch some television?" she suggested.

Charlotte nodded. "Yeah. That sounds nice."

An hour later, Helen was very pleased with herself. Sitting on a couch watching mindless television would normally gall Magnus, who usually had so many things to do she barely slept. She found that under the present circumstances, however, the activity was very pleasant indeed. She'd ended up lying on said couch, utterly relaxed, with a beautiful woman wrapped up in her arms.

Charlotte's head was pillowed against Helen's arm as she gazed at the TV, watching with only half a mind. The other half was thinking about how Helen's second arm was wrapped around her waist, her fingers playing absently with the buttons of Charlotte's blouse. Their legs were entwined, and Charlotte realized her foot was rubbing across Helen's.

"This is really nice," Charlotte said in a soft, happy voice.

"It is," Helen agreed, pulling her even closer and placing a kiss against her hair.

"Never pegged you for a cuddler," Charlotte grinned.

"Just don't tell my staff!" Helen pleaded. "My reputation would be completely ruined."

"What reputation is that?"

"Oh you know, being a hard-ass, or something like that. Always bravely fighting the fight, without any time for myself."

"I can see how they'd think some of those things," Charlotte said, nodding against Helen's arms, "But I certainly disagree about one."

"And which one is that?"

"I think your ass is utterly squeezable."

Helen laughed, and Charlotte shivered as Helen's hot breath hit her neck.

"Yours isn't so bad either," Helen breathed, rolling her hips to rub against Charlotte's backside. The professor hummed and closed her eyes as Helen's lips descended onto her neck, dropping soft kisses here and there. After a few minutes Helen found a particularly choice area of skin and gently pulled it between her lips, sucking.

"No hickeys," Charlotte murmured. "We have to go out tonight, remember?"

Helen mumbled her agreement into her neck, not ceasing with her kisses. The arm on Charlotte's waist lifted, her hand trailing down a long leg, then back up again. Despite the airy summer clothes, Charlotte was starting to heat up. She was suddenly discontent with her passive role. She rolled over to her right to face Helen, raising a hand to cup her cheek and bring her down to kiss. Helen grasped Charlotte's waist again, her strong legs wrapped around Charlotte's, keeping her secure on the small couch.

Neither woman felt a rush of overwhelming need, or lust. It was the first time they'd been together with no time constraints, pressing lab experiments, or flights to catch. It was just a lazy afternoon, and they took full advantage of the opportunity to keep things slow. They were almost drowsy in their embrace, tongues meeting lazily while hands trailed lightly. Charlotte was surprised to notice her shirt was missing, Helen's fingers so deft at undoing buttons that she hadn't even noticed. _Wait a minute…_ she thought. Her skirt was currently sliding down her legs as well! That woman was magic. Charlotte lifted her hips to aid the process and hazily opened her eyes, realizing that her own fingers had not been idle. Helen's blouse was also undone, though still on.

Charlotte watched as Helen kissed her way down her neck, skimming her lips and tongue across her collarbones before continuing down. Kisses to her stomach were so light they almost tickled, and Charlotte squirmed. Helen paused and looked up at her, her blue eyes dark and hooded, but her gaze soft. Charlotte couldn't resist reaching out and stroking Helen's face with the back of her hand.

"Best birthday ever," Charlotte whispered. Helen's earnest, joyful look made Charlotte's heart thud almost painfully. She carefully extracted herself from Helen's embrace, slipping off the couch.

"Charlotte?" Helen inquired, sitting up. Her open blouse slipped off one of her shoulders to reveal freckled, fair skin.

The professor kneeled in front of the couch, rising up on her knees to give Helen a long, languid kiss. When Charlotte finally pulled back, Helen sighed, her eyes closed. Charlotte gently pushed her and Helen acquiesced, leaning back into the couch, allowing Charlotte to rain kisses down her torso. Charlotte opened the sides of Helen's blouse wide, but left it on, kissing her way around the borders of her bra but not venturing further. Her hands drifted down to Helen's legs, gently kneading the muscles of her calves. When she made it to Helen's belly button, Charlotte was amused to see that the Doctor's belly ring had a deep purple gem that matched her blouse. She played with it between her teeth for a few moments. When she moved on it was to run her tongue along the top hem of Helen's skirt. Helen bit her lip and shifted her hips. Charlotte grinned against her skin.

Charlotte's hands moved up from Helen's calves, working their way slowly up her thighs, pushing the black skirt higher and higher up her long legs. She could feel the tension burning just beneath the surface of Helen's skin.

"You don't have to do this, you know," Helen said softly. Charlotte blinked and looked up at her, puzzled.

"It's your birthday," Helen explained. "I should be pleasuring you."

A tingle ran down Charlotte's spine. "Well you said at lunch you have to cater to my every whim today, right?"

Helen nodded.

"Then let me do this for you. You came all the way out here to see me, it's the least I can do. Besides, I _want_ to do this. You can do all the pleasuring you want afterwards."

Helen nodded. "A sound compromise," she complimented, relaxing further into the couch.

Charlotte turned her head and kissed the inside of Helen's thigh, feeling it quiver at her touch. With aching slowness, Charlotte worked her way upwards until Helen's skirt was fully bunched up around her waist. Charlotte's heart thudded again at what she found, and her mouth watered.

"Helen," she said slowly.

"Hmm?" Helen's eyes were still closed, a little smile on her face.

"You're not wearing any underwear."

Charlotte stared at the expanse of bare, blushing skin.

Helen's blue eyes peeked out from beneath her dark lashes. She smirked.

Charlotte swallowed hard. "Have you been like this all day? At the school earlier?" The thought made heat swell throughout her body, her skin tingling.

"Not all day," Helen admitted in a deep voice. "I took them off while we were at lunch."

Charlotte gaped at her. "Presumptuous…" Had Helen intended to have her way with her at the lunch table? She was illicitly thrilled at the idea. Next time they went out for a meal…

Helen just kept on looking smug.

"Where did you put them?" Charlotte couldn't help but ask.

"In my purse. I had to wrap them in some paper towel though. I was already wet for you."

To emphasize her point Helen spread her legs a little wider, revealing glistening pink lips.

"Oh god…" Charlotte breathed, wondering for the thousandth time what she'd done to deserve this woman. "I claim the panties as another birthday present," she declared.

"Fine by me," Helen agreed huskily, "But if you don't put your tongue on me soon I'm going to drip onto your couch."

With a gush of warmth between her own legs Charlotte leaned forward, placing her tongue as far back between Helen's legs as possible, her essence instantly alighting Charlotte's taste buds as she caught it on her tongue, dragging it along Helen's entire length, leaving her with a final flick to her most sensitive area. Helen gasped and screwed her eyes shut, her hands instantly reaching out for purchase on something, anything to ground her. Two yellow pillows became her victims as she gripped them tight. She opened her eyes for a brief moment to watch Charlotte roll her tongue around inside her mouth, savouring Helen's taste. The wetness Charlotte had just cleaned burst forth again, and Helen worried for the nice couch.

As if she sensed Helen's thoughts, Charlotte's eyes popped open. For a moment, as their gazes locked, time froze. Then Charlotte's hands tightened on Helen's legs and she leaned down again, caressing her with her tongue once more. Helen's head fell back against the couch as Charlotte started into a rhythm, making sweet love to her with her mouth. The professor left no skin untouched, occasionally leaving Helen's trembling sex to lick the skin of her inner thighs, sucking softly, nibbling gently. When her tongue pushed inwards it went so slow, but so deep. Helen's body melted into the couch's pliable contours, the usual stress and tightness of her limbs abandoning her in the wake of Charlotte's intimate caress.

When Charlotte finally took her over the edge, Helen came with a long, breathy moan, back arching, one hand threaded through Charlotte's curly hair while the other gripped the headrest of the couch. Her own long hair was spread across the couch like a fan, her head pressed back into the soft couch. A bead of sweat trickled down between the valley of her breasts, still encased in lace. When her senses returned and she opened her eyes, she saw Charlotte's head resting against her thigh, eyes closed, a smile playing across her lips. Helen just watched her for a moment, peaceful and serene. Finally, she tensed the hand in Charlotte's hair, using it to lift her head off her thigh and coax her up onto her knees. Charlotte's eyes opened, so dark they were almost black. Helen didn't feel the need for words as she pulled Charlotte forward, meeting her in a passionate, deep kiss. Their eyes fluttered shut.

Charlotte felt Helen's fingers this time as they unclasped her bra. The younger woman allowed her arms to fall to her sides as Helen slipped it off of her. Helen pulled back and opened her eyes to look at her, clad only in simple, white panties.

"Time for your birthday suit," Helen announced, grabbing hold of Charlotte's hand and standing up, helping Charlotte to join her. Helen led her to the bedroom, laid her down, and slowly peeled off the rest of her clothing. She then proceeded to cement in Charlotte's mind the idea that this was indeed the best birthday she'd ever had. No toys or aids were needed, just hands, lips, teeth, tongue, and the incredible sensation of skin on skin.

Little did they know that the day's excitement had barely just begun.

Several hours later Charlotte was pouting in the kitchen, a glass of wine in her hand.

"Do we really have to go?"

"Charlotte," Helen smiled indulgently, "This is your birthday party, not mine. You know I'd be happy to stay here."

After a blissful few hours, they'd fallen asleep for a while. Upon waking, they'd ventured into the shower which was, after all, telephone-style, and yet more time had been wiled away. Finally, they were dressed in casual jeans and tops, ready to head out. Magnus was already wearing her shoes, a pair of lovely heeled sandals. Charlotte, wearing flats, had to look up at her, despite the fact she was naturally an inch taller than the Brit.

Charlotte sighed. "I know. And as much as I'd love to just stay in, it's been planned for a few weeks now. It's been a pretty tough semester and I think the other teachers just jumped on my birthday as an excuse to finally let loose."

"As everyone needs to do now and then."

"You're one to talk."

"I'm doing that right now, aren't I?"

"And doing a fine job of it."

"With your aid, of course. I find your hands-on approach to be very helpful."

Charlotte took a few steps back, waving her hands in front of her. "Oh no, don't start with that talk, now, you and your little British accent. You know we'll never get anywhere if you keep talking to me like that."

Helen sighed dramatically. "Fine then. Guess I'll just have to be mute for the rest of the evening."

"My loyal arm candy," Charlotte grinned and nodded enthusiastically.

"Hardly," Helen scoffed. "I've never let any man objectify me like that. I won't let any woman do it either!"

Charlotte snapped her fingers. "Shucks. Ah well, had to try."

The bright day had cooled off into a mellow, late summer evening, so the two doctors decided to leave early and stroll casually to their destination. The Raven, Charlotte informed Helen, was a bar and grill that boasted three pool tables, a juke box, and the comfiest round booth seating this side of the harbor. Being pretty close to campus the bar was often packed with students, intermingling with the teachers, but they knew the professor parties were more personal and out of respect usually avoided them. Most of the teachers loved it, but Charlotte had always had a weird reservation about the place. The staff were pleasant enough, and the service was decent, but she'd always had a feeling that there was something off. She used to be able to ignore it, but ever since her senses had been boosted, and thanks to the woman with whom she was currently arm in arm, she had more trepidation than ever. She didn't let Helen know, though. The older woman was here for a weekend free of worry and stress. She didn't need Charlotte's silly unease weighing her down or distracting her.

As they walked under lamplights that were just flickering on, a dark figure peeked out at them from behind the trunk of a sturdy elm. He hurriedly wrote down some final notes before packing away his notebook, and quickly stepping into a jog. He didn't want to be late for work. Sure, being a waiter really sucked sometimes, but he knew tonight was going to break the mindless routine. Some people found the place dull, but he knew that tonight would be a special night for The Raven. They had a pretty special guest coming, after all.

_To be continued…_

* * *

Oooh, more intrigue is brewing. Do we think this is going to be a fun party? I do ;) Please share any and all comments, good, bad, and random, via the review button below :p I am always open to being bribed with reviews for faster chapter posting!

MS


	3. Chapter 3

To mourn/celebrate/drown our sorrows regarding the horribly premature cancelling of this brilliant, brilliant show… I'm posting an extra-special long chapter, ahead of schedule, chock full of a$$-kicking Magnus. Lord knows we all need some right now. Let's keep this show alive! We fic writers now have utter free reign on what we do, and there is SO much left to explore. I can guarantee you I'll be stubbornly writing for this show till the end of time. I can only hope and pray that someone will stick around and keep reading…

* * *

_Previously, on "Magnus goes to School" _

_As they walked under lamplights that were just flickering on, a dark figure peeked out at them from behind the trunk of a sturdy elm. He hurriedly wrote down some final notes before packing away his notebook, and quickly stepping into a jog. He didn't want to be late for work. Sure, being a waiter really sucked sometimes, but he knew tonight was going to break the mindless routine. Some people found the place dull, but he knew that tonight would be a special night for The Raven. They had a pretty special guest coming, after all._

* * *

"Happy Birthday!"

Charlotte held back a wince as several of her colleagues, who'd apparently arrived early, broke out into a raucous chorus of the birthday song. Helen had to fight to hold back her laughter, trying to be sensitive to Charlotte's feelings. The virologist wasn't good with having lots of attention directed at her; unless it was Helen's, of course. Groups? Not so much.

Once the initial assault was over, including balloons and some streamers, someone finally called out, "Who's your friend?"

Charlotte took a breath, commanding herself to stay calm and not give away that Helen was anything more than a friend. Not that she was ashamed, but she wasn't quite ready to admit to anyone that she had stumbled into a relationship with a woman.

"Uh, everyone, this is Doctor Helen Magnus. Helen, this is everyone."

A hush fell over the group of professors in attendance.

"Magnus?" the same voice said. "As in that mysterious benefactor you try so hard to avoid talking about?"

Charlotte blushed and Helen grinned.

"Yeah, that would be the one."

"Wow."

"Wow what?"

"Well I, uh… I just always thought that it was a man."

"Sorry to disappoint," Helen spoke up, wryly.

"And she's British? Holy… oh don't worry ma'am, there is no disappointment from me, believe me," the man said with a wink, stepping forward from the crowd. Magnus estimated him to be in his mid to late forties, fit, with dark wavy hair and a cheeky twinkle in his light brown eyes.

Charlotte shook her head. "Helen, may I introduce Doctor Devon Calloway, professor of microbiology, and all around charmer." Her voice was light, but Helen detected something else, underneath the surface. She couldn't quite place it.

Devon extended his hand with his best debonair smile. "Enchanted, my dear," he proclaimed. Helen rolled her eyes and shook his hand. He quickly gathered her hand between his, raising it up to kiss it.

"Watch out for him, Helen," Charlotte warned, "He thinks he's irresistible."

"For quite a time you believed that as well," he countered.

One of Helen's delicate eyebrows rose high above the other as Charlotte frowned and looked away. Magnus waited patiently for her to turn back.

"Ok, fine," Charlotte said, throwing her hands in the air. "We had a…thing, for a while."

"If two years and an engagement can be called a 'thing'."

There was a sting of bitter sorrow in Devon's voice. An engagement? Magnus definitely had to get the story behind this. Later, though. Right now was time for celebration.

"Anyway," said Charlotte loudly. "None of us want to hear about that old drama. Helen, let me introduce you to some more of my friends."

Helen politely greeted the academics, ranging in age from early thirties to one energetic 60 year old. Besides Helen and Charlotte there was only one other woman; a rather quiet physicist in her mid-forties, named Sandy. She wore glasses and a rather outdated dress, but her smile was genuine.

Once introductions were done and enough people were confused about Helen's evasive answers as to what exactly she did, and which areas of science she specialized in, they finally took their seats. The large circular booths were indeed comfortable, and the one they'd reserved was big enough to seat all nine of them. It was in the far back corner of the place, and they had to walk up a few steps to a raised platform that was surrounded by a small railing. The décor was predominantly dark, reddish wood and brass, with dark green seating. It was the kind of place Magnus would expect to be smoky and dimly lit, but surprisingly it was neither. She thanked modern sensibilities for having banned smoking inside public buildings. Professor Calloway conveniently happened to end up sitting next to Helen, the large booth seemed smaller all of a sudden.

"May I have the honour of buying your first drink?" he asked Magnus, who flicked her eyes towards Charlotte, tucked up against her other side. "And one for the birthday girl of course," he hastily added.

Charlotte asked for the local hefeweizen that the pub always had on tap, but Helen was struck with the desire to find out more about this man, with whom Charlotte had, apparently, spent so much time.

"I'd like to check what they have," Helen said, standing up. "I'll come with you to the bar."

Charlotte frowned, twisting a napkin between her fingers as she watched the pair walk off. Helen's ass looked way too good in those jeans, and Charlotte knew she wouldn't have been the only one to notice.

"Don't worry," said Stu Lewis, the punchy 60 year old anthropologist. "I'm sure your friend can hold her own against him."

Charlotte had no doubt about that. She just hoped Devon could survive Helen Magnus. He may be her ex, but she knew first-hand how Magnus had the power to wear people down. She didn't think Devon deserved that, though she was flattered that Magnus had taken a protective stance.

Magnus leaned against the bar, knowing her light blue top would pull tighter as she did so and enhance the slight bit of cleavage that she allowed to show. Devon, predictably, glanced down. To his credit his eyes didn't linger. She peered at the selection, rather impressed.

"Lagavulin 18, please, neat." she told the bartender. The man quickly poured her drink, Charlotte's beer, and a refill of Guinness for Devon. Once again to his credit, he didn't wince at the bill. Scotch of that quality didn't come cheap. As the 6'2 man gathered his and Charlotte's drinks, he noticed the British brunette smiling at him.

"What?"

"You're having Guinness," she said.

"So?"

"Reminds me of someone I work with."

"Is he as charming as I am?"

"He can be, at times. Has a decent singing voice as well. How's yours?"

Devon laughed, intrigued by the woman's boldness. "If you didn't hear it in the birthday chorus I'd be happy to give you a solo performance sometime."

"Perhaps," Magnus smirked.

They arrived back at the table and soon a raucous but good-natured debate on electromagnetism was being had. She sat back, slowly sipping her drink, observing. She had to admit it was nice to be surrounded by a group of elite intellectuals, and have none of them yammering at her for help with a rampant lizard creature, or extra funding, or some such. She was also worried that, with the topic being what it was, she might be too tempted to start speaking about her dear friend Nikola Tesla and end up sounding like a mad woman. She was content to simply watch Charlotte interact with her associates. She'd never seen Charlotte with other people, besides her own team, and the few on Grand Comore. It was yet another normal activity that she found herself cherishing.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of their waiter, who Helen hadn't yet seen.

"Good evening," he smiled. Helen felt a sudden chill against her skin.

"Hello," she replied in an even voice.

"Do you need a refill?"

She glanced down at her glass, not having realized she was finished.

"No, thank you," she said. For some reason she didn't trust the waiter to bring her next drink.

"Let me know when you do need one," he smiled, taking her empty glass and walking away. Magnus watched him go, wondering why he hadn't asked anyone else if they needed a refill.

* * *

Marco kept his pace steady as we walked away from the table, glass in hand. He'd been so close to their next mark he could smell her perfume. It had taken all he had to talk to the random British woman. He wanted to go straight for Charlotte but the boss, as always, wanted to advance things slowly. Wait till the party had had a few more drinks and loosened up. In the meantime, Marco had been tasked with gathering the British woman's glass. He understood the importance of getting DNA samples from every new customer but really, they had the next phase planned to a tee. Why should the British woman even matter? It wasn't like she would be able to single-handedly throw the plan off course. With a sigh and a shake of his head, Marco pushed through the swinging door into the kitchen.

"I've got the girlfriend's glass," he announced, tossing it up in the air.

"Hey!" cried Joe, leaping out of his chair to catch the glass before it fell to the ground and shattered. "Can you please at least try to be more careful?"

"You need to relax," Marco laughed. "Every new glass, you get all worked up. Do you really think we're going to suddenly have some super being walk into our bar? After all our years here?"

"It never hurts to be thorough," Joe muttered, knowing the arrogant Marco would never understand the importance of sticking to procedure. "And it's not like you've been with us for all those years." He turned around, and got to work. He was just as excited as Marco about finally implementing the next stage of the plan, but that didn't mean they could let everything else fall to the wayside. To succeed, they needed patience, vision, and attention to detail. What they hoped to achieve couldn't be done in a day, a month, or even a few years. They'd already put so much time into the project. Joe couldn't stand the thought that Marco, the new guy, could possibly screw it up.

Joe put his hands together and cracked his knuckles. Time to get to work. The high tech lab equipment looked out of sorts in the industrial kitchen, but his set up in the corner was the best place in the bar to do it. The basement would have been more spacious and less noisy but it was needed for… other things.

* * *

Charlotte was having a good time, which surprised her. She had not been looking forward to the evening, but while these peer parties at the pub were usually rather dry, tonight had been great. She didn't want to admit how much her good mood had been influenced by the woman at her side. They hadn't been able to kiss, touch, or even look at each other for too long, but Helen's mere presence made Charlotte feel safe. Several drinks had been drunk, and even the quiet Sandy was relaxing. Of course Charlotte's hackles rose whenever Devon got flirty with Helen, but she was keeping herself in check.

Just as she had that thought, Devon spoke up so the whole group could hear him.

"Well everyone, it wouldn't be a party at The Raven without a little friendly competition. Our new friend Helen has agreed to play a game of pool with me!"

A cheer of approval went up.

"I'll try not to embarrass her too badly," Devon grinned at Charlotte. "She was even gracious enough to make it interesting." Charlotte bit her lip and looked up at Helen, who squeezed her shoulder quickly and winked. Charlotte felt a wave of amused apprehension. Devon was so out of his league. She stood up and wandered with a few others to lean against the railing and observe the game below, a few cheap bets being brokered.

Helen let Devon break, telling him in a soft voice that she didn't really know how to. He rolled his shoulders back, smiled, and happily started the game. He sunk the solid red 3 on the break, and Helen said "Ooh!" and clapped for him. He preened and sunk the six, but missed his next shot. A few more bets were made. Helen gazed at the table for several moments, chewing her lips in worried thought and tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Why don't you try for the 10 over there?" Devon suggested, pointing at the table and walking towards her. "Let me show you." He moved behind her, about to raise his arms and wrap them around her shoulders to show her the exact line of the shot, when she suddenly walked away to the other side. His arms fell to his side but his face stayed determined. The people watching shook their heads, used to the suave professor making moves on attractive women.

"I think I'll try this one," Helen declared, leaning over the table to start prepping her shot.

"Uh, I don't know if that's such a good idea," laughed Devon, surprised that this seemingly intelligent woman would even think about trying a practically impossible shot.

"Oh it can't hurt to try," Helen smiled airily.

Sandy, the physicist, narrowed her eyes as Helen leaned even further down towards the velvety green surface of the table, focusing on her shot. The physicist's mind whipped through some quick calculations, and a smile suddenly bloomed on her face. She liked this Doctor Magnus. The quiet woman watched as Magnus smoothly moved the cue forward, sending the white ball careening into the orange 13, hitting it just off to the left. The ball sailed forward, bounced off the side of the table and rolled straight into the corner basket on the opposite far end.

"I got it!" Helen exclaimed. Devon's smile faltered.

"Good for you," he praised. "Now let me help you with this next shot."

"Oh, no thank you," Helen politely declined. "Maybe I'll get lucky again."

She lined up her next shot and Sandy had to suppress a giggle. Devon had no idea what he'd gotten himself into.

The charismatic microbiologist felt his heart slowly sink when the brunette sunk her next shot. And the next. And the next two after that. He'd been played, and he knew it. He thought he could win back some dignity when she finally missed a shot and he had another chance, but his confidence was shaken, and he only sunk one ball before missing again. His opponent cleanly finished the game. He appreciated the fact that she didn't make a big show of her victory, humbly acknowledging his bow of defeat.

"Well, Doctor," he said reaching into his pocket and bringing out his wallet. "You certainly taught me a lesson tonight."

"Even professors need to keep learning," she smiled, accepting her winnings. She looked up to the railing, searching for Charlotte, but her lover was nowhere to be seen.

"Another?" Devon asked. "Maybe you could teach me some of your moves."

"No, thank you," she shook her head, resting her cue against the side of the table. "I think I'll let someone else have a turn."

She walked up to their booth, placing her winnings on the table and announcing the next round was on her, much to everyone's delight.

"Anyone seen the birthday girl?" she asked after receiving several thank you's.

"She went to the bathroom, I think," said Larry Brown, philosopher, "But that was almost 10 minutes ago."

Helen frowned. "I actually have a need to visit there myself," she said, "I'll let her know you're missing her out here."

She walked to the bathroom with a jump in her step. If Charlotte wasn't feeling well, she should have told her.

"Charlotte?" she called, entering the ladies room, "Are you alright?"

Nobody answered. Magnus' unease grew as she subtly checked the three stalls. The bathroom was empty. That was odd. There's no way she would have missed Charlotte walking out on the way here, there was only a small hallway to pass through.

Frowning, she exited the bathroom and started walking back to the table. Where else would Charlotte have gone? Magnus was reaching into her pocket to grab her phone when the kitchen door to her right swung open and a waiter with a plate of food hurried past. Something inside the kitchen caught her eye and she froze. That couldn't have been… Suddenly on high alert, Magnus crept forward and coaxed the door open, just a crack. A hand flew into her vision and she stepped back as the door opened wide and her waiter from earlier, Marco, filled the doorway.

"Something I can help you with?" he asked with a forced smile.

"I'm sorry, I was just looking for my friend," she said, affecting an innocent look.

"Well unless she works here, she won't be in the kitchen."

"I guess you're right," she said with a sheepish shrug. He nodded shortly and moved to close the door.

"Although," she pressed, "I could have sworn I just saw a microscope in there? Are you doing some of that molecular gastronomy stuff that they do on those fancy TV cooking shows these days? I've always been so curious about it; I don't suppose you could let me in just for a peek?"

"Look, lady," Marco said, stepping out of the kitchen and crowding her against the wall. "Your friend isn't in here, and our cooking is none of your business, unless you have a complaint. If you do, then please go to the bar and ask for the manager, ok?"

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry," she said, shrinking back. "I was just curious."

Marco stepped back and raked his gaze over her, a gleam in his eye. "Yeah, well," he said with a smirk, "Curiosity can get you into trouble, you know." With that he turned around and went back into the kitchen. Helen let a look of disgust wash over her face. She felt the urge to go back to the restroom and wash her hands.

But first she had to find Charlotte. Helen had a bad feeling about this place, one that was swiftly growing, and finding the professor would help ease at least some of her doubt. When she rejoined the party and found Charlotte still hadn't returned, she went straight into action.

"Don't worry, "she assured the group. "I'll just call her. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for her absence."

"Yeah," someone piped up, "Remember when Bobby was gone for a while a few months ago? And Kyle before that? They always come back alright."

Magnus' frown deepened at the odd comment but didn't have time to ask about it as she brought her phone up to her ear and listened to it ring. She wandered off the platform and past the pool tables as it continued to ring, longer than it normally would. She was at the front entrance when it went to Charlotte's cheery voicemail.

"Damn it," she muttered, stepping outside. She called again. Still no answer. Was she on the other line, or just not there? Helen's heart rate picked up. She shoved the phone back in her pocket and turned around, quickly surveying the building, looking for other entrances. She starting moving to the side of the building and was just about to turn a corner when she heard a voice.

"Helen?"

The sun had finally set, but Magnus could still recognize the identity of the silhouette before her, backlit by a yellowing streetlamp. Her heart skipped a beat with relief.

"Charlotte!"

The dark figure that was Charlotte started walking towards her.

"Hey, what the heck are you doing skulking around out here?"

"Looking for you!" said Helen, a bit harsher than intended. "Where have you been?"

"I'm sorry," Charlotte said, startled at her vehemence. "I got a call and it was loud inside so I came out here."

"You've been gone for almost 20 minutes!"

"It was an… unexpected call. One that I actually need to talk with you about… it's rather important. I would've told you I was going outside but you were too busy wiping the floor with Devon," Charlotte beamed. Helen felt her pulse start to ease down.

"Can you please warn me next time? I was worried you were…"

"That I was what?" Charlotte asked softly, reaching out and grabbing Helen's hand, squeezing it in assurance.

"I was just worried," Helen said, squeezing back.

"Sorry," Charlotte repeated.

"It's alright. I know I'm a bit paranoid sometimes."

"Justifiably so," Charlotte smiled.

The women looked at each other for a moment; Helen scrutinized her one last time to make sure she was indeed ok.

"I'm fine," Charlotte said. She was already becoming quite adept at reading Magnus' looks. The older woman leaned in and pressed her lips against hers. Charlotte responded, but pulled away after just a few short moments.

"We should get back inside," she said quietly.

"Right," Helen nodded, with one last peck to her lips. Charlotte remembered as they walked back in that she really needed to tell Helen about the phone call, but people started crowding her as soon as she got back, asking where she'd been, and it slipped from her mind.

Thirty minutes later Helen really did have to visit the washroom. She smiled as she washed her hands, thinking about the birthday cake they'd just enjoyed. She'd learned that the birthday tradition of the 'stuffy professors' was that when the cake came, they had to do their best to "stuff" the guest of honour. The tradition had been borne years earlier when a particularly loquacious professor had tried to make a lengthy birthday speech, while all the guests had just wanted cake. They'd decided to "cut off the hot air" by stuffing the cake into the birthday guest's face. To this day, when the cake came, every guest got to take a spoon and feed the birthday man or woman with as much cake as they could. Magnus wished she'd had a camera when Sandy, usually so sedate and reserved, took a spoon of cake five times the normal size and stuffed the whole thing into Charlotte's laughing mouth. Charlotte had had to use two napkins to wipe off all the icing that had made it onto her face, despite the fact that the other teachers had told her there wasn't any. When it came to Helen's turn, the doctor had had to stare at a spot past Charlotte's shoulder, unable to look at her as her lips closed around the spoon and gently sucked the small bit of cake off. Helen removed the spoon slowly, thinking that she might just have to invest in another birthday cake for tomorrow night, when they were alone and had access to a large, comfortable bed, with a shower close by. She suddenly remembered the little bottle she had in her suitcase pocket, the special potion of her professor's own invention. Yes, that would be fun too.

With thoughts of chocolate cake and whipped cream, Magnus quickly dried her hands on a paper towel and left the bathroom, humming a made up tune. She passed the kitchen door, resisting the temptation to try looking in again. She needn't have bothered, as the door flew open behind her and crashed into her back. She stumbled forward before whirling around.

"Excuse me," she said in a firm voice, finding herself face to face with Marco once more. "But I really would suggest you check the hallway outside before flinging that door about. Every time I've walked past it tonight I've…" her voice trailed off as she got a full, unobstructed view of the kitchen. A normal person probably wouldn't have noticed the table in the back corner, or the contents on top, but she was far from normal.

"Why do you have a…" she began.

Marco reached out and grabbed her by the elbow, his hand clamping down like a vice before pulling her roughly into the kitchen. The door closed behind them.

"Look, lady," he whispered harshly, "I don't know who you are, but you're gonna forget what you saw here, or else."

Magnus' eyes went cold.

"I don't think you should be threatening me," she warned him in a low voice, her body tensing.

"Oh yeah?" he sneered, "You think you're pretty tough, huh?" He flexed his neck back and forth, rubbing his hands together. "I think I'm gonna enjoy this."

Before Marco knew what was happening he found himself flying through the swinging door and crashing into the wall beyond. Magnus heard shouts from the main room and cringed, trying to think of how she would explain this. Marco recovered remarkably quickly and in the next instant, thoughts of cover-up stories were the last thing on her mind. She ducked to avoid his right hook, sending a quick jab to his side. He groaned and listed sideways. She went in for another hit, still crouching, but he brought his knee up and caught her in the shoulder, sending her onto her back. She leapt up, parrying a series of blows as she absently heard people crowding at the end of the hallway, watching them.

She wanted to keep the fight to the small hallway, knowing that if they migrated to the main room innocent people could get hurt, but Marco was red faced with rage, and pressing her backwards with surprising strength. She fought hard to avoid his blows but he pulled a quick feint that surprised her and landed a solid hit to her face. Her head rocked sideways, carrying her into the wall so hard her head bounced.

"HELEN!"

She recognized Charlotte's voice through the ringing in her ears.

"Charlotte!" she called, "Get everyone out!" She sent a kick to Marco's shin, "And call the police!" His leg buckled and he fell a few inches, leaving him at the perfect height for her to land a blow to his jaw.

Charlotte stood frozen for a moment as she watched, transfixed by Magnus in full fighting mode. It was a sight to behold. Then reality hit her like a hammer and she got to work.

"Alright everyone, move!" she yelled, turning around and starting to herd people towards the exit.

"We have to help her!" cried Devon, incredulously.

"She can handle herself," Charlotte said, grabbing his arm and running with him to the main doors.

"You're just going to leave her!"

"Trust me, she'll be fine!"

But Charlotte wasn't as confident as she sounded. People had finally realized that a serious fight was happening, and were either running for the doors on their own, or shoving the friends that wanted to stay and watch. Charlotte sent a silent prayer upwards that none of the locals who were there that night, in various states of inebriation, got it in their heads to join the fight, or start another of their own. She heard grunts and heavy breathing, with the occasional thud of fist hitting flesh as she hurried the final people outside. She turned around and saw the bartender jump over the counter and run towards Magnus. She hadn't seen the bartender push a little red button under the bar before he did so.

"Helen!" Charlotte called urgently.

Magnus turned around in time to see the new challenger barreling towards her. The man leaped upwards for a running punch and she dove sideways, tucking into a roll and springing up. How she could do that in heels, Charlotte would never know. The professor stood frozen once again, wishing she'd started her self-defense class a few years ago rather than a few months. She burned to join the fight and help her lover, but was smart enough to know she'd only get in the way. She opened her mouth to call out another warning to Magnus when a hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her backwards out the door, and to safety. The last thing she saw was Helen picking up a pool cue and snapping it across her knee, wielding the broken sticks like short swords. Charlotte whirled around.

"Devon, what the hell!" she fumed, wresting herself out of his grip and moving back towards the door.

"Hey! You're the one who was so concerned about all our safety!" he yelled, grabbing her arm and stopping her from reentering the bar. "Don't get pissed at me for worrying about yours!"

"She's my friend!" she argued.

"Well you're mine!"

She glared at him and turned around, making another attempt to re-enter the bar.

"No way," he said, pulling her back. She tensed to fight him off but then realized that other people were staring at her, open-mouthed. She deflated, letting her arms go limp and hanging her head.

"Sorry," she said shortly.

"No need to apologize," he replied, folding his arms across his chest. "I know she's a pretty… special friend, of yours."

Her eyes flew up to his.

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Just that I know she's helped you out a lot with your research and stuff," Devon replied with honest confusion. "And from what I've seen tonight I get the impression that you're actually pretty close friends, too."

She swallowed hard, relief flooding her that their secret was still safe.

"Yeah," she agreed, running a hand through her hair. "She's a good friend."

"I'm glad," he said. "You never did have many friends outside of work. It's good seeing you with someone new. I don't like it when you're alone."

_You don't even know the half of it,_ she thought.

Sirens suddenly penetrated the buzz of the crowd, flashing lights appearing down the road and racing towards them. Someone must have called the police. Devon wandered off to meet them, and Charlotte sneakily opened the door to the bar, listening. She heard the sounds of men grunting in pain, and grimly smiled, wondering if police would even have a fight left to break up.

* * *

The kitchen was frantic with movement. Joe the scientist had been downstairs when the fight had begun, but the panicked voices of the kitchen staff had led him to investigate. When he saw the red panic light come alive, he knew something was seriously wrong. The bartender, Brandon, wouldn't push the panic button unless there was serious danger. He ran to his table, unplugging and gathering all the equipment as carefully as he could and running it out the back door to the waiting van. He called for a kitchen worker to help him and together they had all the equipment secured in mere minutes. Finally only the printer was left. He grabbed it; ignoring the paper it had just printed bearing the results of the British woman's DNA analysis. He hauled it awkwardly outside, handing it into the waiting arms of a man inside the back of the van. Joe was just about to run back inside when his brain caught up to him and he realized what he'd just seen printed on the piece of paper. He stopped mid-step and turned back, calling for the man to return the printer and ripping the paper off the tray. His jaw dropped. There was no way… It was impossible! He read through the results once more.

"Boss!" he screamed. "Boss, you have to see this!"

* * *

"…and then the bartender jumped out from behind the bar and started flying at her," Charlotte explained to the officer after several uniformed men had run into The Raven.

"And you have no idea what started the fight?" asked Officer Michael Kopinsky.

"No, I don't," she admitted, wishing she knew something that would instantly prove Helen's innocence. She was sure Helen wouldn't take part in a fight like that without good reason. Trouble always did seem to follow her.

"Thank you very much Ms. Benoit," said the officer, writing down some final notes in his notepad. "We'll call you if we need to speak with you again."

She nodded and watched him move to Professor Brown to start on his statement. An ambulance suddenly careened around a corner and came into view, and her heart thudded. Who had called them, and why? With the police there, everyone was distracted, including Devon, and she was able to easily slip inside the restaurant. The sight that met her was so quintessentially Helen Magnus that she couldn't help the burst of laughter that escaped her mouth. The officers scattered throughout the room swiveled to face the intruder, hands flying to their side-arms.

"It's ok!" cried Magnus, leaping off the barstool she'd been sitting on. An impressive black eye was already forming, blood dripped from her lip, and her shirt was torn. Charlotte had never seen a more beautiful sight. She was okay! Sure that Helen was fine, Charlotte quickly scanned the room. Her hand rose to her mouth in shock. Chairs lay broken, tables were upturned, several pool cues were in pieces, and not only were Marco and Brandon the bartender unconscious and handcuffed on the ground, but a third man was as well.

"I assume the cuffs were from the police?" Charlotte asked as Helen strode towards her, despite the protestations of a policeman.

"They were," Magnus confirmed. "I left mine at your place."

Charlotte smiled weakly and spread her arms. Helen walked into them and wrapped her in a ginger embrace.

"They got a few good hits in," she grudgingly admitted, wishing she could hold onto Charlotte a little harder.

"They got lucky," Charlotte murmured, breathing in deep, letting the scent of Helen's shampoo calm her, despite being mixed with blood and sweat.

"Excuse me," a curt voice interrupted them. "I wasn't finished getting your statement, Ms. Magnus."

Magnus pulled back and gave the young officer a level look. "I already told you, I need to talk to your supervisor."

"Look," he said, his hands out in a placating gesture, "I don't know how you learned Captain Grenville's name, but…"

"Oh for God's sake…" Magnus reached out and plucked the radio from the officer's belt.

"Hey!" he cried.

Magnus switched the walkie-talkie to channel 8, and the officer's eyes grew even wider.

"Captain Grenville," she said in a saccharine voice after clicking down the call button. "This is Helen Magnus calling."

She waited for barely two seconds before a voice burst forth.

"Helen Magnus? When the hell did you arrive in my city? I swear I had every single damn precaution I could in place to alert me if you ever came back here."

"It's so lovely to hear your voice again," Magnus smiled. "I arrived this morning. Don't fret too much or your old heart will give out. Your precautions worked fine, I just broke into the airport security and erased all evidence of my arrival. I'm sorry to say the man you had stationed to tail anyone of my description was easily avoided. Are you having a nice weekend so far?"

"I was until you called me just now. Why are you on the police channels anyway? Are you already blowing things up?"

"Heavens no, it's only my first day here. Just got into a bit of a scuffle at the local pub, I'm afraid."

A pained groan sounded through the static of the radio.

"Who's the officer with you right now?"

Magnus handed the radio back to the stunned looking uniform.

"Sergeant Holmston sir!" the young man barked.

"Holmston! Trust whatever Magnus says. Let her take over the whole danged investigation if she wants to."

"Sir?" stuttered the Sergeant.

"Just do it! I don't want to be disturbed again tonight unless it's absolutely, without question, a life and death situation. Is that understood?"

"Loud and clear, Sir."

"Good. Give me back to Magnus."

Holmston gave Magnus the radio, his eyes wide and calculating, trying to figure out who she was, to have so much power over his boss.

"Captain?"

"Don't use that cute voice with me, Magnus," growled the radio. "Is everything under control?"

"Your officers are doing a fine job."

"Glad to hear they're finally losing their training wheels."

"They're riding steady."

"Don't suppose you want to tell me what happened?"

"The yam fries were soggy so I had words with the chef."

"That's what I thought," he sighed. "Well, I know I can't force you to tell me the truth."

"I'll let you know if anything important comes up," she promised him.

"Do you need anything else? Or can I go pour myself a large whiskey and hope my dreams aren't plagued with thoughts of what other horrors you're going to put my city through?"

"No more horrors, I promise."

"Uh-huh. Right."

"Enjoy your drink, my friend."

The radio went silent. Helen smiled fondly at it before handing it back to Sergeant Holmston, who walked away in a daze.

"Helen?" Charlotte said.

"Yes dear?" Helen asked, looping her arm around hers and walking outside.

"You're crazy."

Magnus laughed.

"Why thank you."

* * *

Magnus spent some time with the highest ranked officers on the site, explaining what had happened, and letting Sergeant Holmston relay the Captain's order. She asked them to conduct a thorough investigation of the establishment, on suspicion of a potential drug operation. She honestly wasn't sure what to think about the lab equipment she'd seen in the kitchen, and didn't want to jump to conclusions. A drug ring was a sure way to get the police to be thorough, checking not just the rooms but the walls and ceilings as well. It would be ironic, really, if the favourite bar of several of the United States' intellectual elite turned out to be a drug den. Thinking back through her memories of times past, with some of history's elite, she smiled. The taboos surrounding drugs had certainly changed in the last century. They used to be what the elite used, frequently, to enhance their natural genius. She wondered if Charlotte had ever dabbled.

Magnus wanted to stay longer and do some searching of her own but she didn't have the equipment she wanted, and she could tell that Charlotte didn't want to be there any longer. Most of the professors had gone home. A few of her closer friends, including Devon and Sandy, had stuck around to make sure Helen was ok.

"Where did you learn to fight?" Devon asked, unable to keep the awe out of his voice. The woman got more fascinating every minute.

"Here and there," Magnus mysteriously replied.

"We have some self-defense courses at the university," he informed her. "Maybe you could come teach some?"

"We'll see," she nodded. It would give her an excuse to see Charlotte more often, but with her schedule… He opened his mouth to speak again but she didn't let him. "Look, Devon, I know you have a lot of questions, but I think the birthday girl is a bit worn out from all the excitement. I'd like to take her home now. I'm sure you understand."

He closed his mouth and glanced at Charlotte, who indeed looked like she was more than finished with her party.

"Of course," Devon said, bowing his head. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok. I know events like this can be exhilarating."

He nodded bashfully.

"When everyone makes it out alive, at least," she muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

He laid his hand on Charlotte's shoulder. "Happy Birthday Charlotte," he said with a dry chuckle.

"Thanks," she smiled.

He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "Night."

Charlotte and Magnus watched him for a few minutes.

"You were amazing," a timid voice suddenly said.

Magnus started, not realizing that Sandy was still there. A blush crept over Magnus' face at the woman's obvious admiration.

"Thank you," acknowledged the Brit, humbly.

"I wish I could do stuff like that."

"I hope you never get into a situation where you need to," Magnus told her.

"Yeah," said Sandy quietly. "I guess you're right."

"I'm glad you came out tonight," Charlotte told her. "You don't often do."

"I know," said Sandy, shuffling her feet.

"You should. Join us more, that is."

A grin broke out on Sandy's face, but she quickly tempered it, nodding her head up and down. "I'd like that."

There was silence for a moment.

"I know you guys want to get home," Sandy said. "I'll let you be. Happy Birthday."

She gave Charlotte a very quick hug then hurried away. Charlotte watched her go, thinking how before she met Magnus, she was a lot like Sandy. Subdued, less confident, dreaming of a more adventuresome life. She looked over at Magnus, who'd thankfully wiped the blood from her mouth. Charlotte had sure got more than she'd bargained for! Be careful what you wish for, and all that. She didn't need to make a birthday wish this year, though. She already had what she wanted.

Magnus turned towards Charlotte, her blue eyes soft in the dim darkness.

"Let's go home."

* * *

Charlotte let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding when Magnus clicked the lock of the door behind them, walling them into her little home. She felt a warm hand rub across the small of her back.

"Fun evening, wasn't it?" Magnus joked.

"Oh yeah. Another classic night with Helen Magnus." Charlotte remarked as she walked into the kitchen and started pouring herself a glass of water. She took a few sips before she realized the Doctor hadn't followed.

"Helen?" she asked, seeing Magnus still standing in front of the door, her eyes downcast.

"Helen, what's wrong?" Charlotte walked towards her.

"I always put you in danger," Magnus finally replied, quietly.

"What? Oh for God's sake Helen…" Charlotte put her hand under Helen's chin and raised her face to look at her. "How was tonight, in any way, your fault?"

"I let my curiosity get the better of me. If I hadn't been so pushy about looking into the kitchen, the fight wouldn't have happened."

"From what you told me the kitchen door kept swinging open on its own, and you just happened to be in the hallway. It's not your fault you saw inside."

"I started asking questions."

"No, really now? Helen Magnus being inquisitive?"

"Charlotte!" a light laugh took the edge of Magnus' indignant tone.

"Seriously, Helen, don't worry about it. No one was hurt except the bad guys and, well, you, a little bit. You're sure you don't want to see a doctor? For a second opinion, at least?"

"I'm fine, I promise."

Charlotte looked at her for a few moments, judging the truth of her statement.

"If you say so," she acquiesced. "But as I was saying, everything turned out ok. You may have just had a hand in one of the biggest drug busts in New Haven history!"

"We'll see," Magnus said moving into the kitchen and pouring a glass of water for herself. "I only saw a few pieces of lab equipment, nothing actually incriminating in and of itself."

"Well I'm sure your buddy, the Captain, will let you know if anything comes up."

Magnus nodded.

Silence fell between them as they contemplated the eventful birthday.

"Sleep?" Charlotte offered. Magnus nodded and took Charlotte's offered hand.

Magnus consented to a bit of an inspection, so regular bed preparations took a while longer, with Charlotte carefully cleaning up cuts and gently washing away the dirt that inevitably finds a person while fighting. Magnus found the care and attention sweet and relaxing, the cloth Charlotte used soft and damp with warm water. By the time they curled up together on the bed, neither even tried to initiate anything sexual. For the first time since they'd met, they spent a night simply in one another's arms, peacefully sleeping.

To be continued…

* * *

Well! What do we think? Glad I'm FINALLY posting again! Please share all your thoughts, good, bad, and randomly off topic.


	4. Chapter 4

_Previously, on "Magnus Goes to School"_

"Sleep?" Charlotte offered. Magnus nodded and took Charlotte's offered hand.

Magnus consented to a bit of an inspection, so regular bed preparations took a while longer, with Charlotte carefully cleaning up cuts and gently washing away the dirt that inevitably finds a person while fighting. Magnus found the care and attention sweet and relaxing, the cloth Charlotte used soft and damp with warm water. By the time they curled up together on the bed, neither even tried to initiate anything sexual. For the first time since they'd met, they spent a night simply in one another's arms, peacefully sleeping.

* * *

Saturday dawned bright and clear, and saw yet another 'first' for the couple. Helen, who usually and much to her confusion slept in later than Charlotte, woke up at the same time as her. Changes in breathing and little shifts of bodies drew them gradually awake. Charlotte was content to stay where she was, wrapped around Helen, and Magnus was happy to accommodate. Helen didn't open her eyes until Charlotte, who'd sleepily opened her own, erupted into drowsy laughter. Magnus' eyes sprung open. Well, one did. She discovered the other one to be rather swollen.

"What's so funny?" she whispered.

"Your eye," Charlotte whispered back. "It looks someone spilled blueberry juice all over you."

Magnus winced. "A good one, is it?"

"Beautiful."

Magnus shifted her shoulder in a lazy shrug. "I'm sure it won't be my last." She tried to stretch and felt a barrage of uncomfortable twinges. The fighting last night had injured her more than she'd let on, but the pain was more annoying than debilitating. She'd just have to wait it out.

Charlotte suddenly leaned forward and laid a gentle kiss on the dark bruising around Helen's left eye. Both of Magnus' eyes fluttered shut.

"Better now?" Charlotte asked.

Magnus opened her eyes, which were suspiciously bright.

"All better," she nodded.

Charlotte brought her hand to cup Helen's face, gently brushing her thumb over Helen's split lip. Helen opened her lips to kiss the thumb, gently nibbling.

"Anywhere else hurt?" Charlotte asked, coyly.

A grin spread across Helen's face. "You don't need any pretense darling, just kiss me."

And she did.

A little while later and Helen's aches and pains bowed before the power of pleasure, and she insisted that Charlotte stop treating her like she was about to break. Charlotte grinned a devilish grin and opened the bedside table drawer. Helen quickly discovered that while Charlotte's secret toy stash was not as extensive as hers, it was more than satisfactory.

"I love brunch," Charlotte declared several hours later, leaning back against her chair and patting her stomach. "You can basically have anything you want. Salty, sweet… it's got everything."

"And how does my brunch measure up against others you've had?" Helen asked, pouring more tea into her cup.

"The food was up there, though admittedly not the best I've ever had."

Helen's jaw dropped in exaggerated hurt.

"But the service was excellent. I've never been fed by a hot British doctor before!"

"I do take pride in my servicing abilities," Helen grinned.

"Oh yeah. No complaints there. At all. Of any kind."

Helen kept grinning as she gave Charlotte a quick peck on the lips.

"So besides all the wining and dining, do you have other plans for me this weekend?" Charlotte asked, standing up and starting to clear the dishes.

"I thought I'd take you for a ride."

Charlotte paused. "Haven't you already done that?"

"A real one, this time. In a vehicle."

"I, uh… don't actually have a car, you know."

"I know. Don't worry; I've taken care of it already."

"You bought me a car for my birthday?" Charlotte said jubilantly.

"Darling, we've known each other for barely half a year. If I started buying you cars already, someone might… misconstrue the nature of our relationship, shall we say?"

Charlotte shrugged. "I wouldn't mind you being my sugar daddy."

Helen laughed. "Regardless, I have not bought you a car. Sorry."

Charlotte nodded her head mournfully.

"There's always Christmas," Helen said flippantly, joining her in loading the dishwasher. "Speaking of presents, though," the Brit continued. "I might possibly have a few little tokens from some of my team."

That made Charlotte freeze, forget about what she was doing, and look askance at Magnus.

"Are you serious?"

Magnus nodded.

"Your team… your friends… gave you presents? To bring to me?"

"Just little things," Helen said, "Nothing too fancy."

Charlotte gulped. "Wow. I just… wouldn't have expected that. I still haven't remembered anything from my last night in the Sanctuary, you know."

"As I keep telling you, you did not do anything you would regret. And despite all your fears and doubts, my team really did take a liking to you."

Charlotte bowed her head, blushing slightly. "That means a lot."

Helen placed her hand on Charlotte's cheek and smiled at her, stroking her thumb lightly across her skin.

"Now come on," Magnus said, nodding her head towards the couch. "Presents, then a ride."

An hour later they were driving casually along Long Wharf Drive, the waters of Long Island sound to their right, the wind off the water gliding smoothly over their helmets. Magnus had, much to Charlotte's excitement and trepidation, rented a motorcycle. When the professor nervously admitted she'd never been on one before, Magnus had smiled and said "Just hold on tight." The doctor had just so happened to bring two sets of custom leathers with her, lightweight but extremely strong, and despite the heat they generated on the warm day, Charlotte felt that much safer with the durable material protecting her skin.

"They're yours to keep," Helen informed her.

"Are you trying to make an adrenaline junkie out of me? Hoping I'll go buy myself a motorcycle after this?"

"No," Magnus shook her head before winking at her. "I just like the look of you in leather."

They ended up stopping in East Shore Park and wandering along the water's edge to Fort Hale Park. They perused Black Rock Fort, a historic facility which had played a role in the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the Civil War. After, they walked along the boardwalk. Occasionally someone from the nearby US Coast Guard Sector would wander by and they would comment on the merits of men in uniform. Their fun was interrupted, however, by the arrival of an unannounced, summer shower. One moment the sky was clear and blue but the next, the heavens opened up and warm rain poured down on them.

Charlotte started to squeal, looking around for anywhere they could find shelter. Magnus laughed and flung her arms wide, casting her head back and letting the rain fall on her face. She quickly unzipped her jacket, holding it in her hand and letting the rain coat her bare arms, her skin exposed to the elements by the minimal coverage of her fitted t-shirt. Charlotte, who'd run under the canopy of a nearby tree, let her jaw drop at the sight of a wet, leather clad Magnus. She seemed carefree, years of hard life melting from her face as she twirled about, her wet hair sticking to her neck and face. Charlotte quickly shed her own jacket, letting it drop against the trunk of the tree before heading out into the deluge to join her lover.

Helen was delighted at the company, grabbing Charlotte's hands and twirling her about. Summer rain had always been one of Magnus' favourite things. There was nothing quite so fresh and pure. It smelled and felt glorious.

"This is nuts!" Charlotte laughed, shouting at her over the noise of the rain.

"Ah, this is nothing!" Helen called back. "I get wet all the time."

"As evidenced by our lunch date yesterday," Charlotte waggled her eyebrows.

Helen shoved her playfully. "Get your mind out of the gutter, you lecherous woman. I meant wet as in oceans, lakes, underground cave pools... the list goes on!"

Yet more stories Charlotte hoped to hear about in time.

Magnus quickly led Charlotte to the water's edge. Figuring they were wet enough already, Magnus plodded into the water, bending down to fill her hands with water before flinging it up at Charlotte.

"Hey!" Charlotte cried indignantly, rubbing her fingers across her eyes to clear them of the water. Helen just laughed at her and continued splashing. Charlotte marveled at this new, almost childish side of her distinguished companion. She couldn't help but bend down and splash her back. Several minutes were spent traversing the shore, drenching each other as much as possible. A few people hurried by holding jackets and briefcases over their heads to protect themselves, shaking their dry heads at the two women basking in the torrent.

The rocky shore did not allow for easy walking at the best of times, and with the rain the stones became slick. As Charlotte whirled about to answer something Magnus had called, she pitched forward, her ankle sliding off a rock. Instead of ending up on her face, she found herself suddenly in Helen's arms. She gazed at her savior, whose blue eyes shone behind dark, wet lashes. Charlotte wound her arms around Helen's waist, grabbing onto her damp shirt and pulling her forward. Helen grinned against her lips and wrapped her arms around her in turn, holding her close. Their lips slid wetly across each other's, tasting of rain and fresh air. Someone passing by gave them a hearty whistle and Magnus laughed, pulling back to look at the passerby and wink. This in turn made Charlotte laugh, dropping her head to Helen's shoulder, covering her face.

Charlotte usually strongly resisted public displays of affection, and was even more hesitant with Helen, especially in the beginning of their relationship. She finally seemed to be loosening up, for which Magnus was very pleased. She wasn't usually one for PDA either but in this remote, park location, she couldn't resist touching her. She hugged her close, turning her head to kiss her cheek, her neck. Charlotte giggled at the ticklish feel and wriggled out of Helen's grasp. She beamed at the doctor through soggy bangs.

"My hair's going to go crazy when it dries," Charlotte laughed.

"I'm sure you'll still look very fetching," Helen replied, winding her arm through Charlotte's and leading them back to the park, picking up the jacket she'd discarded along the way. Charlotte was pleased to see her own, new jacket was still resting against the tree trunk she'd tossed it to. As suddenly as the storm had hit, the clouds cleared off, and the sun shone down on them once more.

The tree Charlotte had found was in a small, somewhat secluded area of park, and she was happy to sit down and relax after their impulsive frolicking. Helen was sitting with her back against a tree, Charlotte between her legs, when the younger woman suddenly started giggling.

"Something funny?" Helen asked. Her eyes had been closed, the sun warm on her face, slowly drying her out.

"I can't believe what the Big Guy and Henry gave me. They really got it custom made?"

"Have you ever seen a giant stuffed animal that's a lemur?"

"I've never seen any kind of lemur stuffy before!"

"You may not be able to tell from the outside, but my butler is really just a giant teddy bear himself. When Henry found out he was going to be a father, the two went rather mad finding places to get custom toys from."

"I'm honoured that their first purchase was something for me."

"Sorry to disappoint dear, but they already have half a room full of things for the baby."

"Do they even know what the gender is yet?"

"No. And don't even try mentioning the fact that it's not due till over a year from now."

Charlotte chuckled, shaking her head against Helen's chest where it rested. "That's going to be one loved baby."

"It'll be nice to have a baby in the family again."

Helen's body stiffened for just a moment after she said that, and Charlotte stayed quiet, giving Helen a few minutes to gather herself after thoughts of the last baby to join the Sanctuary Network. Charlotte's own mind wandered to a few years in her past, but she clamped down on the memories before they could form, refusing to let out that secret quite yet. She didn't want to ruin the weekend.

"Thanks," Helen murmured after several minutes, acknowledging Charlotte's quiet. She absently rubbed her thumb across the skin of Charlotte's arm.

The sound of music suddenly interrupted the silence.

"Oh!" Helen leaned off the tree to reach into her pocket and extract her cell phone.

"Bad Boys?" Charlotte mouthed as she held it up.

"The theme from Cops. The TV show," Helen whispered back before clicking the answer button.

"Captain Grenville!"

Charlotte listened to the one-sided conversation while carefully studying Helen's face for signs of concern. While she did frown once or twice she didn't seem overly upset when the call ended, and Charlotte felt relatively relieved.

"The Raven had been emptied," Magnus informed her, slipping the phone back into her pocket. "They found a secret room downstairs, fairly large, but whatever had been down there was gone. It certainly supports the theory of a drug den, but they didn't find anything within the walls or ceilings. If they were manufacturing something rather than growing there would be less biological evidence in the area, but still there should have been some trace. They think it must have been just an outpost or something, a place to make deals, not an actual grow-up or factory."

"Well that's not much of a relief then is it," Charlotte commented. "Now they have the task of finding a possibly serious drug running business."

The women were silent for another few moments, contemplating what that could mean for the city.

"Guess we'll need to find a new pub," Charlotte said.

"For a while at least, yes. The police still have some investigating to do. If the building is deemed safe, the restaurant will obviously need new management; one who's willing to try overthrowing the bad reputation. Could be quite some time before it's up and running again."

Charlotte craned her neck to look back and up at Helen. "You have the theme from Cops for when Cops call you?"

Helen leaned back against the tree, her body shaking with light laughter. "I have custom ring tones for many people. I used to try being subtle about them, but gave up. Why not have a little fun where I can?"

"What's my ringtone?"

Magnus raised an eyebrow, looking down at her. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Charlotte scrambled out of Helen's arms, reaching into her pocket to bring out her phone and call Helen's.

"Alright, calm down," Helen said, sighing and reaching for her phone again. "It is your birthday weekend. I suppose I must indulge you."

Charlotte nodded firmly and pushed the call button. Helen's screen lit up with a picture of Charlotte's face, smiling widely; a screenshot she'd taken during one of their Skype chats. Her ringtone started playing.

_I took my troubles down to Madame Rue  
You know that gypsy with the gold-capped tooth  
She's got a pad down on Thirty-Fourth and Vine  
Sellin' little bottles of… Love Potion Number Nine_

Charlotte started laughing after the first line. "Of course!" she exclaimed.

"As I said… I've given up on subtle ring tones," Helen giggled back.

"Did you bring any of it? I made enough to last us several visits."

Helen's eyes grew smoky. "Perhaps."

"My crazy gypsy lady," Charlotte said proudly, leaning in and kissing her.

"If I recall correctly, the Love Potion was actually your idea, young lady," Helen rebuked, leaning in for more kisses.

"Does it bother you?" Charlotte asked in an abrupt rush, pulling back.

"What?"

"That I'm so much younger than you."

Helen looked at Charlotte. She could tell the younger woman had wanted to ask her that for a while, but had found it difficult to do so. Magnus chewed her lip thoughtfully.

"I can't let things like that bother me," she finally replied. "Everyone in the world is younger than me. With my little trip through time even Tesla is a hundred years younger. If I let age be a factor in my relationships, I'd be alone for the rest of my life. I don't want that."

"I worry, sometimes," Charlotte quietly admitted, looking out across the still waters. The sun reflected brightly in her eyes. "That's why I didn't mention my birthday at all. I don't want to be a reminder to you of how… well, different, you are from everyone. Do you even celebrate your birthday?"

"I usually only do decades."

Charlotte shook her head in disbelief. "I can't imagine living like that."

Helen pulled her closer. "I'm glad you'll never have to know."

Charlotte wanted to ask how Helen would feel 10 years from now, 20, or 40, when she was grey and hunched… but didn't. How could she talk about the far future when they weren't even officially together?

Her stomach chose that moment to growl.

Magnus chuckled, the movement rumbling through her body and shaking Charlotte. Magnus looked down at her watch. "It seems we lost track of time. It's already four o'clock, and we skipped lunch."

"As one often does after a nice brunch."

"Ah, yes, but we've also had a bit of exercise in the last 24 hours," Helen winked. "Tell you what. I'll drop you off at home, and then go grab some things for dinner."

Charlotte opened her mouth to protest but Magnus wouldn't hear it.

"It's your special weekend. I may have to cater to your every whim, but you also have to let me pamper you. I want to make you dinner. Please?"

How could Charlotte resist those big blue eyes?

A short while later, Charlotte kissed Helen goodbye as the doctor went off to check out the wares of the local farmers' market. The professor closed the door behind her, and then leaned against it with a sigh. She hadn't had a birthday this good in a long, long time. She still couldn't believe that Helen had managed to get an entire weekend off. The woman usually had to be forced to take a single afternoon off! Charlotte kicked off her shoes and went into the kitchen to get a glass of water, planning to drink one down before heading to the shower to fix her hair. She frowned when she glanced at the clock by the toaster, and a vague memory sparked. Wasn't something supposed to be happening today around this time? Memory hit her with the power of a thunderbolt.

Oh CRAP!

The phone call the night before! She'd completely forgotten about it. Oh god, she hadn't even been able to warn Helen yet! She dug into her pocket, scrambling for her cell phone when suddenly, it rang.

"No no no," Charlotte moaned when she saw who the caller was. She answered it with a pained look on her face, and tension in her voice. Five minutes later she hung up with dread in her stomach. Crap. She immediately called Helen, but oddly, she didn't answer. Charlotte hadn't seen Magnus put the phone on silent after the call from the cops, not wanting any more interruptions to their day. The professor walked woodenly to her room to change out of the new leathers and into a casual summer dress, her mind whirling chaotically.

What would Helen think when she got back and Charlotte wasn't alone?

Magnus' lips quirked upwards as she wandered the stalls of the market, impressed by the local offerings. She'd managed to find a small bakery that had just the ingredients she'd been looking for, and the selection of fresh produce was top quality. She didn't get to cook nearly as often as she liked, so any chance to stretch her culinary muscles was a treat. For this special birthday dinner she wanted to go all out. The sun was still bright but the day was cooling off, for which she was immensely grateful. Custom made leathers that they were, she was still quite warm, having dried out a while ago. Well versed in ignoring physical discomforts, she shopped on, oblivious to the drama unfolding in Charlotte's little apartment as the doorbell rang.

"Darling, I'm back!" Helen called as she opened the door with the key Charlotte had given her. She couldn't help the smirk that entered her voice. "I picked up some extra special things for tonight that I thought you might enjoy..."

Charlotte suddenly came whirling around the corner from the hallway, cutting her off, a rather panicked look on her face.

"Helen!" her voice practically oozed nervousness. "I have a surprise for you…"

"Well who do we have here?" a lilting French accent drifted down the hallway, and a tall man strode into view.

"Who's your friend?" the second voice was female and slightly oriental sounding.

"Helen," Charlotte said, as two people came into view. "I'd like you to meet Laurent and Anne."

She paused, taking in a deep breath.

"My parents."

_To be continued…_

* * *

Ooooh maaaan did I laugh when I wrote the end of this chapter. I can now reveal to you all that the main idea I had when starting this fic was "Helen goes to Yale for a dirty weekend and Charlotte's parents show up. Buahahahah" Everything else that has happened just flowed out of my fingers when I started actually writing.

The Wet!Magnus scene was added in after the initial draft by request of Arones_66 and encouragement of a few others on twitter. You know who you are. ;)

Get ready for some different stuff in the next chapter! Never done me a family!drama fic like this before… heh… And we're not even at the explosions yet!

OH and finally… I was at the Leo Awards in Vancouver this past Saturday. Amanda was so beyond beautiful I almost didn't know what to do with myself. That woman doth slay me. Seriously. How she can manage to be devastatingly gorgeous and super dorky at the same time I'll never know.

Please let me know via the review button what you guys are thinking/where you hope this goes! :p

MS xo


	5. Chapter 5

**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT**

Hello wonderful people! I have a special announcement to make! I've been thinking about how to keep supporting Sanctuary4Kids now that Sanctuary is done... and my friend RacyatSun and I came up with an idea: Fic! It's been done before, I know, but I thought I'd attempt to give it a try. For reasons which will become obvious, I chose this chapter and the next to be dedicated to Sanctuary4Kids. For every review this chapter gets, RacyatSun will donate $1 to Sanctuary4Kids. If I get 10 or more reviews for this chapter, I will immediately post the next chapter as well, which will also have the "$1 per review" clause! All you have to do is read and review! So easy! Oh, and hopefully, y'know, enjoy the chapters...

* * *

_Previously on "Magnus goes to School"_

"Helen!" her voice practically oozed nervousness. "I have a surprise for you…"

"Well who do we have here?" a lilting French accent drifted down the hallway, and a tall man strode into view.

"Who's your friend?" the second voice was female and slightly oriental sounding.

"Helen," Charlotte said, as two people came into view. "I'd like you to meet Laurent and Anne."

She paused, taking in a deep breath.

"My parents."

* * *

There were not many things in the world that could still surprise Helen Magnus. This was one of them.

"Parents?" Magnus repeated slowly.

Charlotte nodded.

Magnus quickly swallowed her shock and a bright smile lit up her face. "How lovely to meet you," she said, gracefully extending her hand. "I'm Helen."

They stared at her, and after a moment she realized what she must look like, what with her full on leather outfit, tousled hair, split lip, and black eye.

"Helen Magnus, is it? Charlotte was just telling us about you," Laurent said, stepping forward to shake her hand. His hair was white, but still thick, and his grip was strong.

"A work colleague?" added Anne, shaking her hand next. Her short cropped hair was curly, and dyed to keep it black. Magnus could see where Charlotte's own curls came from.

"Ah, yes," Magnus nodded. "We've collaborated on a few projects now."

"Charlotte never got around to saying how you met, though?" Laurent said, up swinging his final word to make it a question.

"How about I tell you while Helen goes and changes?" Charlotte interjected, taking her parents arms and leading them to the living room.

"She has clothes here? I thought you said she was staying at a hotel?"

"Well after the excitement last night she ended up just crashing on my couch."

"Excitement last night?"

Charlotte winced. "Yeah. My birthday party involved some unexpected action."

Magnus heard the mother's concerned voice as she walked down the hallway towards Charlotte's room.

"Oh my goodness, are you alright? Is that how your friend got that terrible black eye? Is she ok?"

"She's fine, mom…"

Helen smiled as she closed the bedroom door behind her. She took a moment to compose herself. This was certainly unexpected. The night promised to be very interesting. She rifled through her bag finding a respectable skirt and blouse, and quickly changing. She hesitated, wondering if she should wear the new lingerie she'd bought for the weekend; lacy and feminine, in soft yellow. Not a colour she'd normally wear, and one that was rather hard to find, but Charlotte had once confessed it was one of her favourites, especially in summer. Magnus wasn't sure they'd end up getting any time alone tonight, but just in case, she slipped it on. She then popped into the bathroom to fix her make-up, add another layer of foundation over the black eye, and brush through her hair. She looked at her reflection, appraising. Her eyes were slightly pinched. She couldn't believe it. She was nervous. When was the last time she'd had to do this?

She wiped her hands on the hand towel and took a deep breath, readying herself to exit the room.

At 275 years old, Helen Magnus walked out with butterflies in her stomach to "Meet the Parents".

When she emerged from the hallway she saw that the groceries she'd picked up had been taken out of the bags, and Anne was busily washing the vegetables.

"We didn't know what your plans were, but I figured I might as well get started on this!" the elderly woman said pleasantly. Her eyes crinkled in the corners when she smiled, and Helen found herself liking her spunk.

"I can't wait for dessert," Laurent called from the couch. "Looks like you bought the makings for one helluva chocolate cake! And all that extra whipping cream you bought… You know how to have a good time!"

Charlotte suddenly choked on the white wine she'd been sipping.

"Yes," Magnus smiled forcefully, "I do confess I sometimes indulge my sweet tooth."

"Well I'm glad you're here to do it," he declared. "Ever since she broke up with that wonderful Devon Calloway, I think she's spent all her birthdays alone!"

"Dad…" Charlotte said in a suddenly cold voice.

"And I know we haven't exactly been around much either," he continued, throwing his hands up in the air in his own defense. "But we haven't even been in the States for three years! You know we'd have visited if we were. And if we'd known you'd stayed single this whole time… I mean come on, kid, you're a beautiful woman! Surely you're not still alone? Is there a boyfriend you haven't told us about?"

Charlotte was getting progressively redder, taking longer sips of wine as he rambled on. Magnus took pity on her.

"You've been out of the country?" she asked, picking up the glass of wine on the counter that had been poured for her, and walking to join Laurent on the couch.

"Have we ever!" he said, jubilantly accepting the topic change. "Enjoying our glorious retirement. We spent the first year in France, including some time in the town where I grew up. The next year we were in China, around where Anne grew up. Then for the last year we went wherever our little hearts' desired. When we realized it was little Charlotte's big Four-Oh, we decided to come on home and surprise her!"

He reached out towards where she sat on the love seat as if to pinch Charlotte's cheek. She abruptly stood up.

"More wine anyone?" she asked, though she was the only one who'd finished her glass.

Helen winced for her as her parents kept plowing on.

"We weren't expecting to find her with company already," her mother said. "She always was a bit of a loner. The quiet, smart type. Didn't get a boyfriend until her 20's! We've always worried about her being lonely. But we'll have a big family dinner tonight! I hope that's ok? We don't want to impose, but, well, you seem to have bought enough groceries for all of us!"

"It's fine, of course," Helen replied. "There's always room at dinner for family."

"What about your parents, dear?" Anne inquired.

Helen looked down at her wine glass, twisting the stem between her fingers. "My mother died when I was very young, and my father passed away last year."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Anne said quietly, pausing in the midst of washing a fennel bulb.

"It's alright. He was… out of touch, for a long while. We reconnected a few years ago and I'm very thankful for the extra time we had together."

"Well if you ever need anything from us old geezers, any advice, wisdom, or a hug, you just let us know. We're always there for Charlotte's friends."

"Unless we're out of the country!" Laurent added jovially.

"I'm done all the veggies, dear," Anne announced. "What can I help with next?"

"Oh, it's quite alright," Helen assured her, standing and walking to the kitchen. "I planned to do it all on my own anyway."

"It wouldn't be any trouble!" Anne insisted.

"Oh let the girl be," Laurent interrupted, rising from the couch. "We already stampeded in on their dinner plans. Why don't we head to our hotel, and get settled."

Charlotte perked up.

"Oh we'll be back for dinner, kiddo," Laurent said. "You can't kick your parents out on your birthday!"

Charlotte looked like she wanted to at least give it a try.

"That would be lovely," Helen quickly said. "We'll start eating in, say, an hour?"

The Benoits started gathering their things, explaining they'd come straight to Charlotte's from the airport. Finally, with many promises of "See you soon," they were gone.

Charlotte locked the door, and then sagged against it, her head banging against the wood before coming to rest there.

"Oh. My. God," she said slowly.

Helen laughed and rubbed her back soothingly.

"It wasn't so bad," Helen said. "A bit shocking at first, yes, but I found them rather charming."

"Overbearing and embarrassing, you mean?"

"Just loving parents."

Charlotte lifted her head from the door to look dubiously at Helen.

"I haven't seen them for four years, Helen, not since…"

Helen frowned and waited for her to continue.

Charlotte looked skywards, shaking her head. "I haven't seen them in years, and now they just decide to suddenly show up at my door like everything's fine and dandy?"

Helen shrugged. "Parents can be odd, sometimes."

"They're going to come back and drop not so subtle hints about me finding a boyfriend all night."

"Parents always have a vested interest in their children's love lives."

"Well what the hell am I supposed to say? Well gee Mom and Dad, I was on this tiny island off the African Coast a while back doing research on a virus of epically deadly proportions when this band of mutant bad guys attacked; did you know that monsters exist? Well no need to worry, everything turned out okay 'cause we were all saved by a mysterious, kick-ass British doctor who also happened to be hot as hell. We somehow fell into bed together and have been having mad, passionate sex every time we've met since, so it seems I might have turned gay? Oh, and did I mention that she's 275 years old?"

Magnus pursed her lips. "It is a bit much to spring on them after so long."

"Helen, you don't know my parents. They might seem so happy and sweet its cliché, but they're old school. They would not be ok with our relationship."

"So we don't let them know," Magnus shrugged. "It's only one dinner."

"They're staying for a week. That means they'll be here for the rest of the time you are, and I can guarantee you they'll want to spend as much time with you as possible."

"You, I can understand, but why me?"

"Well…" Charlotte pushed off the door and headed to the living room, dropping onto her couch and revisiting her wine glass. "They were kind of right when they said I was always a bit of a loner. I didn't have many close friends, so when I did seem to have an attachment with someone, they tried to include them as much as possible. It seemed nice at first, kind of, but they always pushed too hard, trying to get information about how I was doing at school, did I ever go out, did I have a boyfriend… I don't want to blame them, but most of my good friends drifted away after just a few years."

"Charlotte," Helen sat beside her and put her hands on Charlotte's knee. "They're not going to push me away, don't worry. I've faced much worse."

Charlotte looked up, despondently, into Helen's eyes. "We'll see." She covered Helen's hands with one of her own, stroking the soft skin. She suddenly chuckled.

"What?" Helen asked, curious.

"I'm surprised they even left for the hour that they did, leaving me alone with you."

"Why's that?"

"Do you realize the picture you painted, walking in the door like you did?"

"I suppose if you hadn't cut me off I would have said something rather embarrassing."

"No," Charlotte shook her head. "You, a stranger to my parents, let yourself into my apartment wearing a tight leather suit with messed up hair, a huge black eye, and an accent. They probably thought you were some eccentric British punk rocker hooligan who'd walked into the wrong apartment."

Helen burst into laughter. "Did I really look that bad?"

"Oh don't get me wrong," Charlotte quickly said, "You were beyond sexy, but… I've never hung around with that crowd before, and I don't know that they've ever encountered it either."

"A rather poor first impression," Magnus grimaced.

"I don't think it was too bad… you did really well after that. The new outfit helped a lot."

Magnus glanced down at her blouse, which had only one button undone this time. "Thank goodness I brought several outfits."

"Always be prepared?"

"For any eventuality," Magnus nodded. "Monsters _or_ parents."

"Speaking of," Charlotte said as she rose. "We have a dinner to cook!"

"I'd really wanted to make it for you," Helen mused regretfully. "But as we have an extra two, I could use your help. Thank you."

An hour and 12 minutes after they'd left, the Benoits let themselves back in.

"Mon dieu!" exclaimed Laurent. "What are these smells assaulting me? Have I entered Heaven? I was so young!"

"Really, dear," Anne admonished, slapping him on the shoulder. "Though I must agree, it smells divine!"

"Nothing too fancy," Helen said modestly. "I wanted to utilize as many fresh and local ingredients as I could for a nice summer meal."

"What are we having?" Laurent asked, rubbing his hands together and sneaking a look into the kitchen. Charlotte shooed him out, ushering him to the couch. As she wasn't used to entertaining, Charlotte didn't have a kitchen table, figuring it took up unnecessary space. She and Magnus had arranged the living room so that the couch and love seat surrounded the coffee table like a dining room. Laurent and Anne could either squish together on the seat, or three people could fill the couch. Four places had been set at the table, with full wine glasses at each.

"The main course is still cooking, but in the meantime I have some gougeres to start."

"French food?" Laurent said, sitting down heavily. "You've cooked French food?"

"Un anniversaire mérite un repas spécial, n'est-ce pas?"

Laurent put a hand to his heart. "And she speaks French… beautifully, I might add! A woman after my own heart!"

"Just wait for the halibut Provençal. I hope it lives up to your standards."

"By the smells, it'll be better than anything I've ever cooked!"

"That's not very hard to do, dear," Anne patted his hand.

Helen brought a basket of the little, puffy appetizers to the table and laid them down. Soon everyone was oohing and aahing over the perfect little bites, the wine flowing steadily. Magnus discovered Charlotte hadn't given her parents much information about the incident on Grand Comore. When they kept pushing for details on their first meeting, she gave them a very brief summary. Magnus helped assure the worried parents that everything had been fine in the end, with no serious injuries to anyone. They didn't mention how many deaths there had been, or how much property damage had occurred. When that was done, an explanation of the black eye had to be given. This time they were able to tell the whole truth, simply omitting the fact that Magnus had called up the Captain and basically gained control of the investigation, though she'd handed it off. Charlotte did not need her already overly-curious parents to discover how powerful and well-connected Helen was.

"I have to ask," Laurent said as Helen cleared the basket and started plating the salad course. "Your French accent… I wasn't joking when I said it was good. Have you spent time in France?"

A sudden image flashed through Helen's vision, of times long past, of men falling dead before a symphony of firearms and bombs. She shook her head, and consciously replaced the image with standing on a bridge in Annecy on a summer's day, Francois standing beside her, toying with her hair…

"Yes," she said. "I've spent quite a bit of time there actually, over the years."

"Have you ever been to China?" asked Anne.

Helen replied in Mandarin. Charlotte had no idea what she said, but her mother's eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped.

"My god," Anne said breathlessly. "Charlotte, your friend is simply fascinating! So well-travelled! I wish you would see more of the world. If you had a husband…"

"I've seen quite a bit of the world, mom, and haven't needed a husband to do it," Charlotte said tersely. "And I'm only 40. I still have time left."

"Not to have children."

Silence hit the room like a cannon.

Charlotte stared into her wine glass and Helen squeezed her eyes shut against a new onslaught of images.

"Anne…" Laurent finally said in a hushed voice.

Anne bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Charlotte," she said. "I know you don't like to talk about it since your incident with Devon, but… I did so wish to have grandchildren one day."

"I know, mom." Charlotte's voice caught and she suddenly stood, striding out of the living room to her bedroom.

Anne put a hand to her head. Laurent shifted closer and put his arm around her. Helen turned down the stove and clicked off the oven, then walked down the hall to Charlotte's room. The door was closed. She knocked. There was no answer. She pushed gently in regardless.

Charlotte was sitting on the edge of her bed, hands clasped on her knees, looking at the floor. Her body was still, but Helen could see the glint of tears on her face, illuminated by the moonlight seeping in through the balcony doors. Helen padded over from the door and sat down beside her, close, but not touching. She didn't say a word.

Five or so minutes later, Charlotte started to speak.

"I was pregnant," she said. Her voice was quiet but strong, and Helen was more proud of her for that than for all her bravery on Grande Comore. "I was already on the wrong side of thirty; it was probably my only chance. I miscarried after only a few weeks. It was really bad. I almost died. I got rather… reclusive, for a while. Devon was away at a conference and hadn't even known I was pregnant. I never told him. He thought I just got sick for a while. He never understood why I broke off the engagement. You're the first person I've been with since him."

She was quiet again for a little while, though Helen could feel the tension practically vibrating from her. "They told me afterwards there was too much damage... I'll never…" Her voice broke again. "I'll never be able to have children." She turned her head away to hide her distress, but after only seconds, she growled in frustration and turned her body towards Magnus, who wrapped her arms around her, pulling her close. She could feel her shirt turn damp as Charlotte's shoulders silently shook.

"Maybe that's why I suddenly turned to women," she choked, her voice muffled into Helen's blouse. "So I'd never have to see the disappointment in a man's eyes when I tell him I can't give him any kids. That I'm not a real woman."

"Charlotte!" Helen was shocked. She pulled Charlotte away from her, cupping her face in her hands and looking straight at her. "Just because you can't have children doesn't mean you're not a real, whole, woman!"

Charlotte screwed her eyes shut and didn't reply.

"Charlotte," Helen commanded. "Charlotte, look at me."

Very slowly, Charlotte eyelids lifted to reveal her watery brown eyes. For a second, Helen let herself think of Ashley. For all the horrors and heartache, she wouldn't have given up one second of motherhood. For all her time and experience, Charlotte's problem was one she'd never had to face.

"There are so many women who can't have children, for so many reasons," Helen spoke softly, her eyes boring into Charlotte's to try to make her understand. "Trust me; I've seen a lot of them. Had to be the one to tell them they can't…" Charlotte bit her lip, and Helen knew the younger woman was now hanging onto every word she said. "Not having that ability doesn't make you any less of a person, less of a woman. You can still live a full and joyous life. You're a brilliant woman, Charlotte. And you've chosen to use that brilliance to help others, with your research, and your teaching. You have caring friends, caring parents. You can still love, and be loved."

Charlotte looked away, her face crumpling. "But I'll never know the love of a child."

Helen felt another piece of her heart crack, and then words were coming out of her mouth that she hadn't planned on saying.

"You still have my love," she whispered. Charlotte froze, not believing what she'd heard. Helen couldn't quite believe it either, but she suddenly knew it was true. She gently cupped Charlotte's face once more, looking straight at her.

"I love you, Charlotte."

_To be continued…_

* * *

**A/N**: Well I certainly wasn't planning on having this fic get all emotional and angsty like that… I don't know if it was the late hour, or if I was just wonky, or my own biological clock is ticking but I actually teared up while writing some of this. If you know me well, you know I NEVER cry, so… yeah. Going over it, I don't know that it really has the emotional impact I originally intended it to have, but I hope it had some.

On a more technical note, Charlotte's ancestry was directly stolen from Sandrine Holt's bio on IMDB :p In real life her mom is French while her dad is Chinese, but… I switched 'em cause I wanted to! Something about Helen being all suave and French and charming her dad, lol. Charlotte's age is also based on Sandrine's, though she's not technically 40 till November. And lookin' dang fine still. You Go Girl.

**Please don't forget** about the Sanctuary4Kids fundraiser! Even if you simply reply with "I read it", money will go to the kids! If you're on twitter, please give a shout out to racyatsun for kindly donating.


	6. Chapter 6

Well! I put out the challenge, and you responded! 12 reviews so far for the last chapter. How many can we get for THIS one! Remember: Each review is a $1 donation to Sanctuary4Kids :) Let's be crazy here: If we can get 20 or more on this chapter, I'll again post the next chapter post-haste! If not, you'll be waiting till probably Friday :p

* * *

_Previously on "Magnus goes to School"_

Charlotte looked away, her face crumpling. "But I'll never know the love of a child."

Helen felt another piece of her heart crack, and then words were coming out of her mouth that she hadn't planned on saying.

"You still have my love," she whispered. Charlotte froze, not believing what she'd heard. Helen couldn't quite believe it either, but she suddenly knew it was true. She gently cupped Charlotte's face once more, looking straight at her.

"I love you, Charlotte."

* * *

Charlotte stared at Helen's shirt, unable to look up and break the moment in case she was dreaming, or hallucinating. Helen stared out the balcony, wondering how the hell she had let herself fall for someone. They'd known each other for about 8 months now, but they'd only actually spent a total of 7 or 8 days together in person. Was it because she'd been alone for so long, after her trip back in time? Was Charlotte simply the first normal person she'd spent enough time with, the first person she'd let herself actually get to know? Magnus wanted to believe it was more than just a coincidence of timing and loneliness.

"How could someone like you," Charlotte said pulling away from Magnus and sniffing, "Love someone like me?"

"Someone like me?" Helen asked.

"Helen… you're 275. You've lived all over the world. You've danced with Kings and Presidents, worked with some of the most influential scientists of our age, and waxed philosophical with literary greats. I'm a boring, 40 year old teacher with pushy parents."

"You're a lot more than just that," Magnus replied.

"Not enough to deserve someone like you."

"I've lived a long time and had a lot of rather special experiences, yes. It doesn't mean I'm some great prize. I'm just as fallible as the next person. I just have more time in which to make all my mistakes. "

"Maybe I'm one of those mistakes."

"Maybe. Right now I don't care."

"You shouldn't waste your time on me."

"It's my time to waste as I see fit."

Charlotte shook her head, running a hand through her hair, wishing she had a tissue to wipe her nose with. Magnus knew the professor was never going to understand why Helen would love her.

"For what it's worth I do too," mumbled Charlotte. "Love you, that is. I think I have since the day I met you, guns blazing, throwing all that ass-kicking around."

Helen's throat was tight. "It's worth a lot."

Charlotte finally looked at her, cracking a hint of a smile. "Thank you. For listening."

"Of course. I'm here for you, anytime."

Charlotte leaned in and kissed her softly, their lips barely touching. Helen's hands rose to rest in Charlotte's hair.

There was a knock the door.

Helen sighed and let her hands fall, pulling away. Charlotte shifted a few inches away from her.

"Yes?" she tiredly called out.

"Can I come in?" her mother's voice was timid.

Charlotte sighed and her eyes narrowed, but she quickly answered, "Yeah."

The door opened slowly, Anne peeking in and confirming she was indeed welcome before entering the room. She hesitated in the doorway, glancing at Magnus uncomfortably.

"She's staying," Charlotte resolutely informed her. Her mother frowned, but after a few seconds nodded and closed the door behind her, coming to sit on Charlotte's other side. She reached out and touched her daughter's hand.

"I'm sorry." She sounded miserable. "What I said, about children… I was just talking about your age, not the… not that that's really any better, but… I just try so hard to forget about that. Sometimes I succeed."

"I wish I could forget," said Charlotte.

Anne glanced at Helen again, unsure of where the British woman fit into the conversation, wondering why her daughter would want her there.

"I had a daughter," Magnus spoke up. Charlotte looked at her with wide eyes, surprised that she would talk about it with a complete stranger, as her mother was. She'd barely brought up the subject with Charlotte. "Her name was Ashley and she was beautiful. She died. Three years ago."

Anne's eyes welled up, and she reached out with her other hand to touch Magnus'. An unexpected rush of emotion filled Helen's chest. "At my age," she continued, "I don't know if I'd be able to have anymore, even if I wanted to."

Anne slid off the edge of the bed and in the next moment Magnus found herself enveloped in the arms of the short Asian woman. Helen found her arms wrapping around the woman and hugging back.

Magnus had been raised by her father in a time when girls were supposed to learn everything from their mothers. She'd never had a mother's guidance, or a mother's soft love. It had been one more thing that set her apart, and led her to the path she still followed today. She'd thought a lot about her mother, as was natural, curious about what sort of person she was. She hadn't thought a lot about what having a mother would have meant in the emotional sense. She'd loved her father. Stubborn as she was, she was always convinced that his stern love and guidance was all she'd needed.

Here, in Charlotte's room, being hugged, accepted, and understood by a relative stranger… Magnus wondered if this, a mother's love, was something she'd been missing, needing, all her life.

When they broke apart Anne looked back at Charlotte and took her hand, sitting back down. They fell silent, sharing strength, thinking about the child that was, and the children that would never be.

A few minutes later, Anne spoke. "Charlotte, honey, could I have a moment with Helen, please?"

Charlotte's eyes widened in alarm and confusion. "Um… sure." She didn't see that she had the choice of saying no. She wandered into the bathroom to wash her face of tears.

"Helen," Anne said, gravity in her voice. "Has Charlotte told you about what happened?"

Helen nodded.

"Would you like to know how Laurent and I know about it, when her fiancé never even found out?"

"I am curious," Helen admitted.

"We were visiting her, several months after the fact. She gave us the same cover story; that she'd only been sick. We never would have known, except that I came down with the flu and booked an appointment with her doctor. While there, the doctor asked how she was doing after the miscarriage. I couldn't believe it. Not just that it had happened, but that she hadn't told her own parents about it. She's always tried to be strong, to plow her way through pain by herself, but a miscarriage? My little girl almost died!" The mother's eyes were wet with tears. She wiped away at them, embarrassed. "I worry about her, Helen," she said. "She's probably warned you not to tell me anything but please… do you know if she's found anyone yet? Or is she still suffering alone?"

Her eyes were so hopeful and pleading that Helen had to answer honestly. "She's found someone."

Anne's eyes fell shut and she squeezed Helen's hands. "Thank god…"

When they emerged from Charlotte's room the women saw the coffee table was set and ready with the next course. Laurent was sitting on the couch, hands clasped, elbows on his knees, staring vacantly at the wall. When he saw the women come out, he stood up and spread his hands.

"I find food always helps after breakdowns," he said, trying to lighten the mood. Magnus looked at Charlotte, and when she smiled, Magnus joined her.

"I took dessert out of the oven," Laurent told Helen. "I hope that's ok."

"Yes, thank you," Helen nodded. "It was just about done anyway. You probably saved it."

They all sat down and started to eat, trying to recapture some of the levity of before. Though the atmosphere stayed subdued, the tension gradually eased and the rest of the night went fairly well, considering. Helen's beautiful meal helped, as did the fine vintage of wine. Nobody indulged too heavily, but it helped mellow some of the strain. Magnus was able to act as mediator for the family, keeping the conversation flowing. She tried to keep the attention away from herself, but the inquisitive parents were relentless. They accepted, thankfully, the idea that she ran a network of private research clinics around the world, specializing in rare genetic defects. She came close to revealing a secret only once.

"So where did you study, Helen?" Laurent asked.

"I started at Oxford. I've studied all over the world, however, and taught at a number of universities as well."

"I went to Yale myself," Laurent said proudly. "First one of my family to make it out of France. I've never been more proud as when Charlotte was hired there. I did worry about some of the older teachers though. Charlotte's a beautiful girl, and I'll never forget crotchety old Mosley…"

"Robert Mosley?" Helen laughed. "A charming young man, to be sure, but it was all just fun. He'd never actually approach anyone."

Laurent put his fork down, frowning at her. "Young man? He was 61 years old when I went there, and that must have been at least 30 years before you were ever old enough to attend. How could you know him?"

Magnus froze, feeling Charlotte's darting look at her. "I meant young at heart," she said quickly. "My… father, was a friend of his. My father used to take me to lectures, after I showed an interest in science."

Laurent still looked a little confused, but accepted her explanation. Magnus breathed a sigh of relief, and took a sip of wine.

Later on, Laurent explained how after his graduation from Yale, he and some friends had decided to take some time off to travel. They'd ended up stranded in a small town in China after a sudden storm. They'd helped re-build the village and in the process, Laurent had met Anne.

"Her parents were so grateful to us for helping them that they practically begged me to take here away with me as thanks," Laurent recalled fondly. "I know it must sound positively Victorian to you new-age feminist types, but thankfully, we'd already fallen in love by then."

Helen and Charlotte shared a secret smile. "I'm sure a lot of worse things happened in Victorian times," Helen said. "Your story is rather romantic."

When her parents finally left, under the assurance that Helen would stay with Charlotte and make sure she was ok, Charlotte felt as if she'd run a marathon. Through a blizzard.

Magnus started quietly clearing away dishes while Charlotte tried to make sense of everything that had happened that night. When she snapped out of her stupor, the dishes were all in the dishwasher, and the few leftovers were put away.

"I should have helped," she said, her voice laced with guilt.

"It's fine," Helen said dismissively. "I'd planned on cleaning up anyway."

"From a table set for two."

"What's done is done, Charlotte. You survived."

"Barely…" Charlotte suddenly cringed. "I'm sorry."

"What's wrong now?" Helen showed boundless patience.

"I just realized how mopey I've been tonight. Whining and selfish the whole time."

"Charlotte," Helen's voice was tinged with exasperation. "You haven't been selfish. This night would have been hard on anyone; I think you've handled it rather well."

"I guess nobody was hurt," Charlotte conceded. "Not physically, at least."

"Everything will be fine. We have a walk planned with your parents in the morning, remember? We wouldn't have that if something had gone irreparably wrong tonight."

"At least one thing went right tonight," said Charlotte, shyly looking at her, communicating with her eyes.

"Very right," Helen nodded.

"Are we done cleaning?"

"Yes, _we_, are done cleaning."

"Good."

Charlotte put her hand out and Helen took it, letting herself be led to Charlotte's room.

"I just want to sleep again," Charlotte warned her as they got ready for bed.

"Fine with me," Helen said as she pulled off her skirt and unbuttoned her blouse. She paused. "What are you staring at?"

"You're wearing yellow," Charlotte stated quietly.

Helen looked down. She'd forgotten about the lingerie. "You said it was one of your favourites."

"It is."

Charlotte's voice was thick and Helen could see tears in her eyes. "You got that for me?" the younger woman asked.

Helen nodded. "Birthday," she said in explanation.

"You went through so much trouble to make this weekend special for me, and its gone wrong at every turn."

"I still think it's been special."

Charlotte's eyes softened as she looked at her. "You're so beautiful…" she breathed.

Magnus let her blouse fall to the ground. The pale yellow enhanced her summer tan, and made her blue eyes pop even in the dim lighting of Charlotte's room. Charlotte didn't even notice the bruises and cuts she'd acquired during her fight the night before.

"Maybe sleep can wait for a bit," Charlotte suggested as she moved towards the doctor.

Helen nodded and accepted her kiss. Charlotte stepped forward, moving them until the back of Helen's knees hit the bed. Helen hoisted herself onto it and shimmied backwards to the pillows. Charlotte followed her.

"Wait," said Helen, holding her hand up in front of her lips when Charlotte leaned in. "Before we start, I have to ask you something. I'd like you to answer, but you don't have to."

"What is it?"

"Before, when I was talking to your mother…"

Charlotte stiffened and sat back onto her legs.

"Why didn't you tell your parents what happened?"

Charlotte hung her head.

"I'm not sure I could put it into words," she admitted. Agitated, she began pulling back the bed covers, Helen deftly slipping underneath. "I was hurt, in every way a person can be. I was angry at myself, both for what happened, and for pushing Devon away. More than anything I was…"

"Yes?"

"Ashamed."

"Whatever for?"

Charlotte shrugged, helplessly. "I just… was. I couldn't even look at my face in a mirror. It was a bad time for me, and my emotions were all over the place. Looking back I can't even remember half the reasons for doing what I did. But I did them, and I've had to live with it all ever since."

"Are you ok with the fact that your parents know?"

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

Helen gazed at her levelly, and she sighed.

"At the time, I was outraged. I actually threw them out, even though my mom was sick. How could they understand when I myself didn't? It's one of the reasons we haven't seen each other in so long. They tried to visit again, tried to keep in touch with me, but I ignored them. In the end, I got what I wanted. They left me alone."

"And now that they're back?"

Charlotte let out a long breath. "I wouldn't have thought it, but I think I'm ready, now, to have them back in my life. Their timing royally sucks, but…"

Helen laughed. "Just a bit off, yes."

Charlotte smiled down at her, pulling the blanket back from her body. Her eyes drifted lower, travelling down Helen's lithe form. Helen felt a now familiar tingle spread through her limbs.

"I'm done talking now," the doctor announced.

"Finally," said Charlotte, reaching over and clicking off the bedside lamp.

Their love making ebbed and flowed; at times it was slow and laced with sadness, at others fast and hard, trying to drive away the pain. Helen told her more about Ashley. Charlotte told her she'd wanted a daughter named Emma. They cried, and then made love again. They were two broken people, making each other whole.

The morning dawned bright once again. With the exception of the sudden storm the day before the weather had been uncharacteristically good, in the often rainy New Haven summer. With the light of a new day, and the cathartic love making, Charlotte felt renewed, not just in body but in spirit. She'd shared perhaps her biggest secret with Helen, yet she was still here, in her arms, slowly waking up and smiling at her.

"Good morning my love," said Helen.

"Good morning," answered Charlotte, giddily. She didn't think she would ever get tired of hearing that from Helen's lips, though she'd heard it moaned, murmured and cried out countless times last night.

"How are you feeling?" Helen asked, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Charlotte's ear.

"Good. Great, actually."

Magnus smiled. "I'm glad to hear that."

"Your eye…" Charlotte breathed.

"What about it?"

"The bruising is already half faded!"

"You know I heal fast."

"Just another one of your many, magical assets," stated Charlotte with a dreamy look in her eyes.

The professor's stomach rumbled, interrupting the serene moment and making Magnus laugh.

"Why is it always my stomach that rumbles, and never yours?" Charlotte mused.

"Hungry?" Magnus played with the sheets between her fingers, but didn't move further.

"Burned a few calories last night, or did you already forget?"

"Oh I won't forget it for a long time. But on the subject, we did forget something last night."

"Oh?" Charlotte's eyes crossed slightly as she looked inwards, wracking her brain.

"Remember the cream your father was so excited about?" Helen smirked.

"Oh yeah," Charlotte's eyes lit up. "We forgot to whip it, and just had the cake plain. It was damn fine on its own though, I have to say. What did you put in it? Cinnamon?"

"And a touch of cayenne pepper," Helen supplied, sitting up and stretching languidly. Charlotte stared at the breasts suddenly displayed above her face. She rose up and caught a soft, pink nipple in her mouth, giving it a quick lick.

Helen gasped and shoved her head away. "None of that now or we'll never get to breakfast!"

"Maybe I'm not so hungry after all," Charlotte grinned mischievously, wrapping her arms around Helen's waist and pushing her down so Charlotte was hovering above her. She stretched her body out along Helen's and let her head drop to her chest, lavishing it with attention. Helen's eyes fluttered shut against her will and she let out a low moan. God! Charlotte was insatiable! Helen threaded her fingers through the hair of the woman currently sucking on her nipples. She was ok with that. Helen's head fell to the side as Charlotte's hands starting skimming down her curves, amazed at how soft her skin was, especially in the morning. Her hands dipped down under the light blanket that covered them. Helen opened her eyes for a moment, gasping when she saw the clock on the bedside table.

"Charlotte," she said, trying to pull the head away from her breast.

"Mmm," Charlotte protested, not letting go.

"Charlotte, its 10 o'clock!"

Charlotte paused mid-suck, digesting the information for a second before pulling off. Cool air hit Helen's wet skin and she immediately regretted the loss of Charlotte's warm mouth.

"Our walk is at 11, isn't it?" Charlotte said dully.

Helen nodded. "We won't be ready if we continue this way," she sensibly noted.

"You seem more than ready to me," Charlotte said in a gravelly voice, her fingers moving and rustling the blankets.

Helen sucked in a breath. "Believe it or not, I am a bit sore from all our fun this weekend," she warned.

"Want me to stop?"

"God no…" Helen shook her head. "But I don't think your parents will be best pleased when we tell them the reason we're late for our walk."

Charlotte's hand stopped as she thought about that. "Crap," she muttered, rolling off her lover's body.

"Indeed," Helen agreed. She contemplated a naughty thought for a moment, and grinned. "If I whip the cream really fast and we share the shower, we could still make it in time."

Charlotte's smile spanned her whole face. "You're so good at time management."

Helen giggled as she jumped out of bed, quickly throwing on the wildly successful yellow lingerie, and snagging the short, light robe from behind Charlotte's door. She would normally just go naked, but there were a lot of windows in her living room, and she didn't want the locals to get any ideas. If anyone had been looking they'd seen enough of the women yesterday afternoon, on the couch. Charlotte pulled on her own bra and panties. Magnus had just stepped into the hallway when she heard a noise and froze. Was that the…?

Charlotte's voice cut through her thoughts, "Hey babe, wait!" Charlotte's arms were suddenly wrapping around Helen's waist from behind, her tongue sliding up her neck. "Let's whip the cream together," she said with heat in her voice. Her teeth nabbed Helen's earlobe, pulling on it seductively. The younger woman suddenly realized Helen was as still as a statue. Charlotte's heart beat grew laboured. She lifted her lips from Helen's skin, swallowed, and looked over, down the hallway.

Sure enough, there stood her parents, arriving early to surprise them with breakfast. Their jaws had hit the floor and they stood stiller than Magnus. The bag of groceries in Anne's hand dropped to the floor from limp fingers.

Charlotte slowly unwound her arms from Helen's waist.

Shit…

Helen very carefully started backing up, forcing Charlotte to move back into the room. Helen closed the door behind them.

"I'm about to be disowned," Charlotte whispered after a few moments of stunned silence.

"I'm sure you're exaggerating," said Helen with confidence. Charlotte's worried eyes met hers and her confidence wavered.

"Clothes?" Magnus suggested. Charlotte nodded, numb. She let Magnus rifle through her closet and hand her things to wear, not registering what they were. She dimly noted that Helen was wearing a short sleeved top and classy summer dress slacks. A few minutes later Helen took her hand.

"Ready to face the music?"

Charlotte shook her head. Helen leaned in and kissed her gently.

"Whatever happens," the doctor promised, "I'll still be here for you."

They walked out of her room hand in hand.

The Benoits were sitting together on the couch, their hands clasped tightly together. Charlotte let go of Helen's before they looked up. Laurent broke the heavy silence.

"So…" he began, then stopped to clear his throat. "You two…"

"Yeah," confirmed Charlotte.

Anne made a small noise in the back of her throat, and Charlotte's eyes began to burn.

"For, um… for how long?"

"About 7 months, now, though we rarely actually see each other."

Laurent nodded stiffly. "And have you always known you were, uh… you know, attracted, to…"

"No," Charlotte said shortly. "It's new. Just with Helen."

"Do you think it has anything to do with what happened?" Anne piped up in a small voice. "With Devon? Maybe you're just confused…"

"Mother," said Charlotte, a bit sharper than she'd intended. "First of all, that's pretty insulting to Helen, and she _is_ standing right here. Secondly…" she glanced over at Helen, and steeled herself. She took Helen's hand. "No, I don't think this is some desperate way for me to come to terms with what took place four years ago. Even if it was… I'm glad it happened."

Anne still hadn't looked at her. Laurent was looking at his wife with concern written all over his face.

"I need another few minutes, please," Anne whispered.

Charlotte's mouth wavered and she sucked in a breath. She found she couldn't speak, so just nodded, and dragged Helen to the office.

"I don't think they'd survive me taking you back to my room," she explained to Helen as she slumped down onto her desk chair, scrubbing her hands over her face.

Magnus rifled through the shelves of books while Charlotte anxiously swiveled around on her chair.

"And I thought getting caught with a drink at 15 was bad," she muttered at one point.

"I'm sorry this had to happen," answered Helen.

Charlotte looked up at her. "It had to, I think. It was pretty naive of me to think I could keep something like this from my parents. I just didn't expect it to happen so soon. I didn't even know they were back in the country till Friday night. Four years apart, and I drop this bomb the day they get in…"

"Would it help at all if you told them you were bisexual, not gay?"

"I don't think so. It's all the same to them."

"It's unfortunate," said Helen diplomatically, conscious of the fact that though Charlotte wildly opposed them in this regard, they _were_ still her parents, "That in this day and age, there's still so much confusion and condemnation over things like this."

"I don't know that we'll ever see days where two people, no matter what combination of race, creed or gender, can simply love each other and have that be that."

They fell quiet again. At one point, Charlotte thought she heard sobbing from the other room. Her limbs felt leaden, and her heart was heavy. She wished the bright sun coming in through the window could warm the chilly atmosphere in her apartment.

Finally, someone knocked on the door, opening it a second later. Anne's swollen, red-eyed face looked in.

"I'd like to speak to my daughter, please," she said rigidly.

Helen nodded and quickly exited the room. She stood in the hallway, unsure of where to go.

"I don't bite, you know," Laurent's voice drifted to her from the living room.

"Can I have your word on that?" Helen countered, walking into the living room. She quickly surveyed the room and sat down in the armchair, crossing her legs at the ankle.

"So," said Laurent.

"So…"

"Do you love her?"

"I do," she replied with no hesitation.

He hummed and nodded, dry washing his hands together as he contemplated her answer.

"Alright then."

Magnus' eyebrows twitched together. "That's it?"

"Unless there's anything more you need to tell me?"

She shook her head.

"You seem to be a woman wise beyond your years. I assume I don't need to warn you that if you hurt her…"

"No, you don't."

"Good."

They lapsed into silence; each wondering what was going on in the office.

"You thirsty?" he asked after a while.

"Let me get you something, please," Helen said, swiftly standing up and going to the kitchen.

"You had your morning coffee yet?"

Helen was glad she was facing the cupboard, getting out a glass when he spoke. He didn't see her cringe.

"Water is fine for me," she replied.

But for him, she searched through Charlotte's cupboards and found, deep in the back corner, a tub of instant coffee. She made him an entire pot.

What seemed like hours later, mother and daughter emerged from the little office, both with red rimmed eyes and puffy cheeks.

Magnus rose up from her seat, as did Laurent. Helen searched Charlotte's face for any sign of what happened, but Charlotte very purposely avoided looking anywhere near her. The doctor finally let her gaze slide to Anne. She found the short woman staring at her with piercing, dark brown eyes. Helen stayed silent under her scrutiny, feeling like she was walking on eggshells, though she was standing still.

"We're late for our walk," Anne announced in a rough voice. "Let's get going."

Helen continued to try catching Charlotte's eye, but the professor was studious in her avoidance. With her parents bustling around them, Magnus had no opportunity to get a word with her in private.

Halfway to the grounds of Yale University, Laurent realized they still hadn't had breakfast, so they detoured to a small café. Food, as Laurent had stated the night before, made them all feel a bit better, though Charlotte knew her stomach would be tied in knots for days. Magnus sent her several questioning looks but she thwarted them all. Helen finally gave up. She would ask her when they were next alone.

In the meantime, Helen let a hot cup of tea and a plate of toast soothe her. Soon enough they were wandering through the trees around Yale. Laurent liked to wander there for old time's sake, while Anne enjoyed the atmosphere. In the years before their estrangement, Charlotte would walk slightly behind her parents, hoping no one would notice the resemblance and make the familial connection. The professor was thankful she now had Helen at her side.

Things were going well, the fresh September air making them all a bit more relaxed, though Anne still hadn't spoken a word to Helen. Charlotte dared to think that given time, her mother might just warm up to the idea of her and Helen. The doctor in question was hoping the same thing.

They were wandering the main courtyard when Magnus heard a sudden noise. She thought for a brief second how oddly familiar it was, but couldn't figure out why it seemed out of place. Then the ground seemed to shift, rising speedily up to meet her and a rush of white noise filled her ears. She put out her hands to brace herself as she realized she was falling, but felt her left arm completely give way. She fell awkwardly to the side as pain suddenly exploded across her nerves. She rolled onto her back, dazed, and looked down. A bright red spot was blooming rapidly across her left shoulder. Her hearing suddenly cleared, and she realized people were shouting, screaming, running. Charlotte was kneeling beside her, hands waving about, unsure where she should touch, calling to her urgently.

"Helen, _please _answer me, are you alright? HELEN!"

Magnus drew her gaze away from her shoulder to look up at Charlotte, frowning. Her blue eyes were glassy and her words were slightly slurred.

"I've been shot."

Somewhere behind them, a loud noise shook the lawn and a plume of fire shot into the air. Another explosion quickly followed.

Chaos erupted.

_To be continued…_

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**A/N:** Ooook, now we're getting back to my usual territory. I told you explosions were coming! You didn't think I'd actually have the rest of the fic be angsty and emotional and to do with family drama… did you! Lots more to go ;)

Remember to review on your way out! I love replying to reviews, but they have to be "signed" to do so ;)

MS


	7. Chapter 7

The **Sanctuary4Kids** drive is going fantastically! Thank you all so much for your support! But how supportive can we be, I wonder! With this chapter, we're going to have to get TWENTY reviews before the next one is posted! OR… And here's the kicker… if any one person, or pair of people, or group, even, collectively donates $20 themselves, I'll post the next chapter ASAP, fully dedicated to them!

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_Previously on "Magnus goes to School"_

"Helen, _please _answer me, are you alright? HELEN!"

Magnus drew her gaze away from her shoulder to look up at Charlotte, frowning. Her blue eyes were glassy and her words were slightly slurred.

"I've been shot."

Somewhere behind them, a loud noise shook the lawn and a plume of fire shot into the air. Another explosion quickly followed.

Chaos erupted.

* * *

_32 hours earlier; Friday Night, The Raven Pub_

"Boss!" Joe, the scientist of the crew, shouted again. He was running frantically through the building trying to find his commander, and failing at every turn. The piece of paper in his hands was crumpling, getting damp from the sweat that leaked from his palm. He cursed, switching the paper to his other hand and trying to smooth it out. The results it showed could be the most important thing that had ever happened to their project. Having searched the building Joe found himself back outside again, watching as the first truck, full of supplies, sped away.

"Boss!" He yelled one last time.

"For the love of Pete, Joseph, will you stop that screeching?" the "boss" stepped into view, and Joe breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sorry, Dad," Joe muttered. "But you _have_ to see this!"

"When we're in the car."

"It's really important!"

"More important than getting everything cleaned up before the cops get here?"

Joe opened his mouth to say "Yes," but his imperious father walked away without another word. Joe let out a frustrated growl. Looking down at the paper, reading the results for the seventh time already, he found a smile returning to his face. He'd been waiting his whole life for this.

Contrary to what he promised, Cam Freeman, "The Boss" did not indulge his son once they were speeding away. In fact he made sure his son was in a different vehicle than him. His son was nothing but disappointment and annoyance. Cam could grudgingly admit that he had his uses, his brilliant scientific mind being one of them, but he was nothing like the revolutionary fighter Cam had hoped for, had tried to mold him into throughout the course of his life. Joe's mother had been the one to introduce the young boy to science. Freeman had never forgiven her, and made sure she knew it. She could have been useful, with this mission, having been a professor at Yale, but Freeman knew it was better that she was gone. Choosing Yale as the target for this undertaking had been his way of honouring her. Slowly taking over the place she once cherished as a site of great freedom, forward thinking, and new thought.

Except Freeman knew there was no such thing as equality and true freedom. Not for his kind. And there never would be until they had people in positions of high influence. When his son had shown a special interest in chemistry and the workings of the brain, Freeman had guided him down a path of his choosing. After only a few short years Joseph had perfected a serum to make people amenable to basically any instruction, and another to erase the memory of implantation. He could program people without their ever knowing it, and set them loose back into the world to carry out his mission. He'd had to work slowly, though, excruciatingly so. Freeman knew he if he screwed up just once, his entire dream could unravel. He set himself up as the owner of The Raven, the place he knew the Yale professors frequented. Over the years he'd profiled every one of them, finding out their areas of expertise, basic home situation, political and religious views, etc. Thanks to his son he also had a DNA profile of each. He'd been hoping to find a fellow abnormal in the teaching roster, but hadn't.

He was becoming impatient.

He knew, in the beginning, that success would take time and patience. He'd thought he was capable. Now, however, he found he was getting agitated. He didn't want to wait months at a time before setting up a new infiltrator. He didn't want to wait years for them to slowly plant the seeds of his ideals in the minds of the eager young students who learned from them. He needed to raise the stakes and let subtlety take a back seat.

His cell phone rang.

"Freeman," he answered.

"Dad!"

Freeman sighed.

"Dad I'm serious, I have to show you something when we get back to base. It's the results of the professor's girlfriend!"

"I don't care about the girlfriend, I need the professor. Her overseas research trips make her the perfect candidate to start branching out to other organizations."

"Dad she's an abnormal!"

Freeman froze. "What are her capabilities?"

"I couldn't figure that out. All I know is that her results were like nothing I've ever seen before!"

Freeman knew his son could get carried away at the barest hint of a scientific breakthrough, but he'd been waiting so long for any hint of an abnormal in his grasp that he immediately latched onto the idea.

"Did you catch her name?"

"Helen Magnus."

Freeman ran the name through his head a few times. He liked it.

"Make Helen Magnus our number one priority," he announced, and then promptly hung up. Cam Freeman wasn't one to get giddy with excitement, but he was close. Not only would he soon have the professor, he would soon have his first abnormal. Not only his first abnormal, but the one responsible for the arrest and detainment of three of his best fighters. He didn't know how she'd done it, but to have that power under his control… Adrenaline flowed through his veins. He brought his phone up to his ear, and started making calls.

A short while later the vans arrived at the safe house. After a quick and careful unloading, Freeman called everyone into the meeting room. They gathered around the large table and sat, waiting expectantly for Freeman, who chose to stand at the head of the table to speak. There were only half a dozen people beside Freeman and his son. They had a few affiliates elsewhere, but overall the operation was run by a small, tight-knit group. He'd chosen his crew very carefully – all were humanoid abnormals. Looking at them, you'd have no idea there was anything different about them. Freeman found them to be the best fit for his cause – different enough to agree with his beliefs on abnormal equality, but normal enough to be able to pass under the radar.

"As you're all now aware, we have a new priority," he began. "We still plan to bring the professor in, but it seems her friend Helen Magnus is pretty special herself. We need them both."

Heads nodded throughout the room.

"We've obviously suffered a huge setback tonight," he continued. "Our main operating base has been compromised, and we've lost three of our men. If we play it right, they'll be held for fighting for a little while then released on bail. I don't, however, think we can wait for that."

"Why not?" someone asked.

"Magnus is only here for the weekend, if Marco's reports were correct. We have to act now, before she leaves."

"What if we followed her? She could potentially lead us to more abnormals."

It was a valid point. Whether it was conscious or not, 90% of abnormals ended up gravitating towards other abnormals.

"It's possible," Freeman conceded, "But I don't think we can take that chance. We need to bring her in while she's here, on our turf. We're not here to discuss if we should or not, we're here to discuss how."

Those who'd questioned reluctantly agreed.

Freeman knew they would do whatever he said, but he wondered at how much arm twisting he'd have to do to get them to agree to carry out the plan he'd formulated in the car.

"I think," he said, placing his hands flat on the edge of the table. "We need to up the ante."

The one who'd questioned him the most, Andrew, shifted uncomfortably.

"We've been playing around for years, slowly making our way into Yale without letting anyone know. I want to try a new tactic. We're going to make the biggest scene we can. I have a few markers I can call in, and the armoury has been getting dusty for too long."

Joe started at that. They had an armoury? Since when? In the last hour, he'd learned more about his father than he had in the last ten years. He'd thought their long term goals were peaceful. They weren't supposed to hurt anyone. What the hell was happening?

"In the ensuing panic," Freeman continued, oblivious to his son's unrest, "We can grab both our marks, and maybe even a few more. We'll make it look like one of our plants set it up, I was thinking Eric. He hasn't done us any good. The school will up their security and hopefully the screening processes for hiring new professors. Those who come in will be even more qualified, even cleaner, than ever before. No one would ever suspect them of being compromised."

"But how are we going to get to them if security goes up so high?"

Freeman grinned. "They're not going to stop going to bars, are they? We'll just have to find a new place."

Andrew was still against the plan but he knew better than to keep disagreeing. Freeman had just demonstrated, with his election of Eric as the disposable professor, how little regard he held for the members of his team. Eric hadn't been very useful, it was true, but he was still 'one of theirs'. They'd spent the same amount of time gathering intel on him as any other. They couldn't let their precious few resources go to waste. He didn't want to end up as the next "not so useful" person.

As the plan continued to be hashed out, Andrew's heart fell further. They wanted to _shoot_ the British woman? He closed his eyes and waited.

"And of course we'll need your sniper skills for this, Andrew."

There it was.

Andrew opened his eyes. "Of course, boss."

He always knew he'd regret his time in the military.

"Ok people. This is going down Sunday, so we have to be fast and efficient. No screw ups will be tolerated. Is that clear?"

Once satisfied with his crew's commitment, he went on. "We need to wait till they're out in the open, at Yale. We'll have two people tailing them at all times. If it seems they're not going near the university, we'll have to make them. Decisions will be made on the fly, so be ready to adapt to anything."

More heads were nodded.

"Ok," Freeman breathed, energy coursing through him at the prospect of finally taking action. "Let's gear up."

_Present Day_

Another explosion sounded somewhere to Magnus' left. Anne screamed and dropped to the ground, covering her ears. Laurent dropped beside her, protectively covering her body with his. Charlotte looked down at them with wide eyes, her mouth hanging open as if she couldn't quite register what was happening. The sight of the terrified family snapped Magnus out of her stupor. Adrenaline flooded her system and masked the pain in her shoulder.

"Bloody hell…" she breathed before forcing herself to stand. "Charlotte!" she yelled. Charlotte's head jerked towards Magnus. "Charlotte, you need to get your parents to safety!"

Charlotte nodded. "Right."

Magnus nodded back then turned and tensed her body to start running.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

Magnus looked at Charlotte. "To make sure everyone else is safe."

The doctor ran off across the grounds, screaming at everyone to get to safety, picking up those who'd fallen as she steadily made her way to her destination.

Charlotte watched her go, absently realizing how much trust Magnus was placing in her, leaving her the task of keeping her parents safe. On Grand Comore Magnus had ordered her to just stay by her side and follow orders. Now she was letting Charlotte loose on her own. She didn't want to fail her. Thankfully she had the best motivation possible. She may be on rocky ground with her parents, but they were her parents, and there was no way in hell she'd let them get hurt. She grabbed her dad by the arm and hauled him up, bringing Anne with him as he rose.

"Let's go!" she commanded. Her parents looked at her with white, shocked faces, but they nodded, and followed when she started to run.

Andrew watched from the roof as the professor led the two older people, who from the frequency of visits in the last day, and the physical resemblance were obviously her parents, away, heading for one of the buildings. He quickly clicked on his radio.

"They've split up. The Brit is headed to the West building, the professor is leading the parents to the East side. I suggest taking the professor first, while she's slowed down by the extras."

As their marks entered the buildings, Andrew sat down with a long, loud breath, leaning against the low wall that circled the roof. His work was done. He wanted no more part of this operation.

Magnus burst into the Dean's office, immensely glad she'd opted to wear flat shoes today.

"Thomas!" she cried.

Doctor Thomas Levin looked up from his desk, where he'd been gesturing wildly as he talked into the phone. His jaw dropped.

"I'll call you back," he said and hung up immediately.

"Helen bloody Magnus!" he cried. "I might have known you'd spring up when my University suddenly starts exploding! What are… oh my god, you're hurt!"

"I'm fine," she brushed off his concern, ably ignoring her pulsing, bleeding wound. "And I'm so sorry Thom," she apologized. "But you can't blame this one on me. I think I'm just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

He frowned.

"I think this has been brewing since long before I arrived on Friday. I need to call the police, and then I'll tell you all about my suspicions."

He itched to know more immediately, but knew even his high status as Dean of the Ivy League School was nothing compared to that of Helen Magnus. The safety of his staff and students was more important than his curiosity. He let her call the authorities.

10 minutes later, Magnus had talked to the police, and told the Dean about her theories regarding the odd events of Friday night at The Raven. The police hadn't found anything in the search of the building, but she had a hunch that the current chaos was connected to it, and her hunches were not often wrong. The aged Dean was not short on questions, but anxiety coursed through her and she knew she couldn't stay talking to him. She hadn't heard an explosion in several minutes, but knew whoever was doing this didn't intend to just blow some stuff up then leave. Something more was happening. She needed to find out what, and how to stop it.

"I'm sorry, Thom, but…"

"Yes, okay, I know. Go save everyone," he waved her away.

"Where's the safest place in the University?" she asked.

"Probably the labs in the East wing. There's volatile materials. When not being used, they're locked down like a bank vault."

"Thank you!" She flashed him a tight smile as she turned around and sped out the door.

It took longer than she wanted to get to the labs, her doctor's sensibilities kicking in and demanding she help people she saw along the way. Thankfully, no one seemed to be seriously hurt, more just shocked and frightened. The sites of explosion were still smoking, some still burning, but firemen were already on the scene, quickly snuffing them out. About 20 minutes after she'd left the Dean, she finally started knocking on lab doors.

"It's Magnus," she cried. That wouldn't mean anything to the average person, but if this was the safest place in the building, she was sure Charlotte would have taken her parents here, and they would recognize her. Finally, one of the doors she banged on swung open. A visibly shaken Laurent answered, ushering her quickly inside. She saw Anne, sitting against the side of a table, hands wrapped around her knees, crying. She searched for the third member of the family. Her heart plummeted.

"Laurent," she said, grabbing his shoulders urgently. "Where's Charlotte?"

He frowned.

"She left to find you. She said we'd be safe here if she locked us in."

Bloody Hell!

"When was that?"

"Probably 15 minutes ago, by now."

"WHAT?"

"She didn't find you?"

Magnus shook her head, and Laurent's face dropped. "Did she leave you the key?"

He nodded and held it up.

"Lock up!" she ordered, and then flew out the door, running full tilt back towards the grounds.

Several blocks away Charlotte kicked out with all her strength, but to no avail. They'd jumped her too quickly, and had gotten her hands and feet bound before she quite knew what was happening. They'd thrown her into the back of a truck and stuffed a rag into her mouth to stifle her screams. They'd driven off so fast the tires had squealed. She didn't care that there were three men trying to hold her down, she wouldn't stop fighting.

Another rag was thrust into her face, fully covering her mouth and nose, but this one was damp. She smelled something funny but still fought like an animal, striking out at any soft body part she could find. Within seconds, however, she felt her limbs start softening against her will, rendering her weak as a kitten.

_No,_ she screamed at herself. _Keep fighting! Don't give up!_

But her body wasn't listening. It went limp, and her vision greyed. She fought to breathe. A few more seconds and she was unconscious.

Magnus searched frantically but Charlotte was nowhere to be found. She questioned the authorities at the scene, police, ambulance and firemen, but they were still scrambling to help everyone and start figuring out what had happened. None of them had any recollection of seeing a woman of Charlotte's description. She took out her cellphone and called Charlotte several times, but she never picked up. Magnus felt panic seeping into her heart but fervently tamped it down. It was absolutely essential that she _not_ lose control. The best she could do right now was to make sure the authorities were on the lookout for her, and ensure that her parents stayed safe. Charlotte may love her, but she didn't want to test those newly admitted feelings by letting her parents get hurt.

She breathed a huge sigh of relief when she found the Benoits still safely tucked away in one of the labs. They looked rough and ragged with sorrow and fear, but aside from a few dirty patches, they were unharmed.

"Where's Charlotte?" Anne stood up and demanded shrilly when Magnus strode into the room. "Where's my daughter?"

"I'm not sure yet," Magnus admitted. Anne's knees went weak, but Laurent was there to catch her. Magnus' heart ached for the worried mother. She knew exactly how she felt.

"But I promise you," she swore to them solemnly, "I will find her."

Magnus led them up to the grounds, handing them over to a paramedic with strict instruction that they be given the best care possible. She had just grudgingly submitted to being attended to, a cloth quickly being pushed against her wound to staunch the blood flow, when her phone rang. She twisted the edge of blanket she'd been given between her fingers and frowned at the unknown number. She answered.

"Helen!"

She stood up abruptly, the blanket falling to the ground.

"Charlotte! Where are you?"

"We have her nice and safe," a male voice answered. "For the most part. Bit of a wildcat, isn't she?"

"Who the hell are you and what do you want?" Magnus growled.

"323 Highburton Road. Come alone or she's dead."

The phone clicked as he hung up.

Magnus took off at a dead run. She briefly contemplated calling her team in, but by the time they arrived lord knows what could have happened to Charlotte. She wished, not for the first time, that Charlotte lived on the West coast, closer to her Sanctuary. She had to show up alone anyway, though, so in this case it wouldn't have mattered. She would have to make do with alerting the police Captain and having him on standby just in case. She mentally shook her head as she thought of the fun phone call that would be. She should never have promised the Captain there wouldn't be any more trouble. She made it to Charlotte's in five minutes instead of the usual 15, managing to look up directions to the address on her phone while doing so. She pulled two pins from her hair as she vaulted up the stairs to Charlotte's apartment, swiftly picking the lock and rushing inside to grab the keys to her motorcycle. She cursed the fact that she hadn't brought either set of keys with her. What happened to always being prepared for anything? Was she going soft already, distracted by love? Friday night should have shown her that nothing, not even a simply birthday weekend, could ever go right for her. She grabbed the gun she'd had hidden in her suitcase. At least she wasn't _entirely_ unprepared. She took a final stop in the kitchen, grabbing two paring knives and a steak knife, carefully tucking them away and lamenting the fact she couldn't so easily hide the butcher knife. Three minutes later she was on the sleek motorcycle, speeding towards Highburton.

She knew it was a trap.

She didn't care.

_To be continued…_

* * *

**A/N:** Mmk. Stuff's goin down. Anyone have predictions as to where this is going! Please let me know any and all comments, thoughts, dislikes and likes via that lil Review button there :p ;) If you're having trouble keeping track of new chapters, add me to "Author Alert" and "Story Alert" to be immediately notified with direct link! :D

MS


	8. Chapter 8

**VERY IMPORTANT: This chapter is dedicated to the amazing kristamaxine11 , who personally donated a whopping $20 to Sanctuary4Kids to get this chapter posted early! You guys all owe her a beer! ;) **

**If anyone else is willing to donate, or team up to donate, $20, and show me a picture of the receipt with a time stamp to prove it, I will again post the next chapter ahead of schedule, and dedicate it to YOU :O I will alternatively post if we achieve 20 reviews all told, though we haven't ever managed to hit that yet, and will surely take at least a few extra days ;)**

* * *

_Previously on "Magnus goes to School"_

Magnus grabbed the gun she'd had hidden in her suitcase. At least she wasn't _entirely_ unprepared. She took a final stop in the kitchen, grabbing two paring knives and a steak knife, carefully tucking them away and lamenting the fact she couldn't so easily hide the butcher knife. Three minutes later she was on the sleek motorcycle, speeding towards Highburton.

She knew it was a trap.

She didn't care.

* * *

Magnus arrived at the address and wasn't surprised to find a nondescript building in a quiet, industrial area of town. Did evil organizations have some unspoken rule that they had to be based out of warehouses? Hundreds of years of dealing with them, and they rarely ever changed their basic M.O. She conducted a quick survey of the area, surprised to see no signs of surveillance beyond basic cameras by the doors. Were they trying to keep a low profile, or were they just low budget? She hoped for the latter, but with the lab equipment and explosive devices, she wasn't confident that it would prove true.

Her cell phone rang.

"You try to sneak in, or do anything funny, we'll kill her," the man's voice said. She gritted her teeth when he immediately hung up. Low-budget surveillance was still surveillance. She glanced at the camera watching her from 10 feet off to her right. She cocked her head to the side and waved before walking straight to the door. It opened right away and a man she'd never seen before ushered her forward.

They had no idea who they were letting in.

She was immediately surrounded by four men.

_Well at least they see me as a threat,_ she thought. _They learned something from Friday._

Three of the men stood guard while one frisked her down. He found the gun, a paring knife, and the steak knife. He confiscated her cell phone and bike keys. She thought of the second paring knife tucked into her sock, halfway down the side of her shoe and hidden by her pants. It was the least accessible of the weapons she'd brought, but it would have to do. She just needed the right window of opportunity.

After the frisk she was led to a large meeting room. The long table could seat twenty but there was only one man in the room, sitting at the far end, his hands clasped calmly on the table. She could have rolled her eyes at the cliché of it all. The furniture was simple and utilitarian. It seems even abnormal terrorists knew the merits of a good deal at Ikea.

"Helen Magnus," the man said, sweeping his hand and inviting her to sit. He nodded to his henchmen and they left the room. She listened for footsteps, but didn't hear any; they were standing guard outside the door. Still, she was now alone with whom she assumed was the boss.

"I'm sorry," she said, staying standing, "I didn't catch your name."

He smiled at her. "Cameron Freeman."

"I could say I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, but I'd be lying."

He chuckled. "You know, all I know about you is what I've read from the notes my men have been taking on you this past weekend."

_Idiot_, she thought. _Already revealing his utter lack of information and letting me know to watch for men trailing me once I get out of this place. If there are any of them left after I'm through. Is this his first interrogation?_

"And the fact that you're an abnormal."

That was at least a little more interesting. Her mind went back to Friday night… the water glass! She knew the waiter had been suspicious. Suddenly the lab equipment in the kitchen made more sense.

"What's an abnormal?" she asked, opening her eyes wide and knitting her brows curiously.

"Given the fact that you took down three of my men at the pub, and how you reacted to our little fireworks display," he continued, ignoring her feigned ignorance, "I'd say you've had some experience dealing with people like me?"

_If you had any idea…_

She remained silent.

"I don't want to hurt you," he promised.

_Right_.

"All I want to do is get to know you better, just ask a few questions, and tell you a little bit about my operation. Perhaps you'll be surprised. My goals might align with yours."

She could already guess at what he was after. "Peace" and "equality" for abnormals. By way of violence, coercion, and a personal rise to power, of course.

"I doubt it," she smiled. "But thanks for the offer. If you don't mind I think I'd like to have my friend back now and be on my way."

He unclasped his hands and leaned back in his chair. "I don't think so."

"You're way out of your league, darling," she informed him. Any abnormal mob boss worth his salt knew who Helen Magnus was. This guy had no idea. He hadn't even been able to crack through the various misinformation she planted for when people tried to look her up.

"But I've got a pretty good ace in the hole," he smirked.

Charlotte.

Well he did have that one right.

"I think a little reunion could be in order, though," he said standing up and walking towards her. "Just need a little something from you first." He sat on the edge of the table a few feet away from her.

"And what's that?"

"Boys," he called.

Several henchmen swarmed into the room. Two of them grabbed her arms while a third, younger, man stepped forward. She saw the flash of a needle. In an instant she wrenched her arm away from one of the men holding her, slamming the back of her fist into his nose. He flew backwards and the other man loosened his grip in surprise. She stood up, her chair banging back into the man with the needle. He stumbled, but didn't drop it. She focused her attention on the man who'd loosened his grip on her arm, punching him solidly in the gut before raising her leg and kicking him backwards into the wall. Freeman leapt off the table, but she was now on the opposite side from him. She was bending down to retrieve her knife when she felt a sharp prick in her neck. She didn't need to look to know it was a tranquilizer. Her limbs suddenly felt heavy, but she kept kneeling down. It took more than a little dart to take down Helen Magnus. There was a prick in her arm, and then her thigh.

_Damn_, she thought as her kneel became a tumble to the ground. _Bad surveillance, good weaponry._

The last image she saw was the young man with the needle, moving forward to extract her blood.

* * *

Magnus woke up slowly, her brain moving at a fraction of the speed it usually did. She did a quick, sluggish run through of her body, making sure no more damage had been done. Besides a twinge in her shoulder from having been lying at an awkward angle for a while, plus the bullet wound, she was fine. She unstuck her eyelids and saw chair legs. She was still in the meeting room. That was odd; she thought she'd have been moved to a more secure location. She wasn't even bound. How many of their men did she have to knock around before they took her seriously?

"You're probably wondering why you're not bound."

She moved her eyes and saw a pair of legs. Freeman was sitting on a chair, legs crossed, looking down at her.

"Try to stand up," he commanded.

She willed herself to stand, but after several moments of floundering, found she couldn't. She couldn't move at all. Her mind continued to clear, but her body became no more responsive. A bubble of panic welled up and tried to break through the fog in her mind. Freeman beamed down at her.

"My son has a special interest in chemistry. We have quite a few special cocktails at our disposal."

The scientist in her was immediately intrigued but she kept her face neutral, bored.

"I'm not much for drinks myself," she ground out in a thick voice, barely able to move her lips to form words. "Though a fine wine is always appreciated."

"You're not what I was expecting," he laughed.

_You admitted you knew nothing about me. What the hell were you expecting?_ She wondered.

"Beautiful British woman, romantically attached with beautiful Yale professor, but can beat up three men and barely break a sweat. I thought you might have just been into MMA or something."

_Idiot_, she thought again.

"But as I get to know you, I figure there must be more to you than meets the eye."

_Oh bravo._

"Your blood tests came back with some very interesting results."

She was not pleased about that. The thought of people analyzing her blood, looking virtually _inside_ her, left her feeling somewhat violated, and unclean. It was one thing to do it for medical reasons, and she wasn't so honorable she couldn't admit she forcibly took blood for the sole purpose of study sometimes, but her intentions, or goals, as he put it, were far different than his, she was sure.

"Before I persuade you to join my cause," he said with absolute confidence, "I'm going to ask you a few questions."

"Why don't you just give me some more special juice and force me to spill all my secrets?" She didn't want to give him any ideas, but was already tiring of his posturing and time wasting. Did he simply like to hear himself talk, or was he stalling for a purpose? She saw a flicker of something in his eyes.

"Even I know not to mix drinks," he replied carefully.

_Ah._ She understood what he was trying not to say. Whatever they'd given her couldn't be used in conjunction with any kind of truth serum he had. That meant she had a certain time within which she had to find Charlotte and get them out before they started shooting her up and she confessed to things she shouldn't. She was very adept at resisting drug therapy but as the tranquilizers had proved, the right amount could still take her out.

"I won't tell you anything until I see Charlotte."

He contemplated that for a moment. She knew she wasn't in any position to be making demands. He called to his guards. Two came in and picked her arms up like a rag doll, her limbs dangling uselessly. She bit down on the inside of her cheek, refusing to let her embarrassment at the situation show. She was dragged helplessly into the hall, down a hallway, through a door, down a staircase, another long hallway, and finally through a door that revealed a small, featureless room with drab, lightly coloured walls and no furniture except two chairs. Her body may be useless but her mind was free and she easily memorized the path, shocked that they hadn't thought to cover her head. Serious amateurs.

Serious amateurs who had still managed to run a covert operation from a pub, plant explosives on the grounds of an Ivy League University, and capture both Charlotte and herself. The drug they'd already used on her made her worry that though their conduct was poor, they were still a threat. She couldn't underestimate them.

"Helen! Crap! How the hell did they get you?"

Magnus opened her eyes as wide as she could, trying to look up but failing, just barely catching a glimpse of her professor sitting in one of the chairs, bound hand and foot. She searched for any signs of damage, but was relieved to see she'd made it through the explosions and kidnapping relatively unscathed. The scratches and bruises would fade, and the one burn she could see on Charlotte's arm wasn't serious.

"They didn't get me," Magnus said as she was dumped into a chair of her own. "I came on my own."

Charlotte's eyes grew wide. "What? Why?"

Magnus leveled her with a look. Charlotte blushed and looked down at her lap. "You shouldn't have," the young woman muttered.

Magnus kept staring at her when Charlotte looked back up at her.

"Right," said Charlotte. No point arguing with Magnus on something like this.

Charlotte's hands were bound together behind the back of the chair, the thick cord woven through the back of the chair to keep it tight, but Magnus was secured even more heavily. Her arms were laid out individually and bound to the arms of her chair. Her ankles were each tied to a chair leg.

"I'll let you lovebirds catch up." Freeman ushered everyone out of the room.

"Why would he leave us alone?" Charlotte frowned, looking at the closed door. It was her second time being held hostage, but her first time being truly kidnapped. The bad guys weren't acting as she'd expected them to.

"He's trying to use tactics he thinks are smart, but failing," Helen snorted. There was a camera in the upper left corner of the small room but she didn't care who heard her, if the camera even had sound. "He thinks by leaving us alone, giving us time to reconnect, we'll gain hope, so that when they come back and start beating us, or drugging us, or separating us again, it will be all the more difficult emotionally." The experienced doctor was already looking around the room with a critical eye, searching for anything that could be useful in escaping. When her eyes swept over Charlotte's form, however, she stopped. Charlotte's face was ashen and her breathing was short.

"Dear god, Charlotte, I'm sorry…" Magnus said quickly. "I didn't mean… I don't want to scare you." She hadn't meant to be insensitive, but she suddenly realized how cavalier she'd sounded about things like beating and drugging. They were not normal occurrences in Charlotte's life, as they were in hers.

"It's fine," Charlotte said shakily. "I need to know what to expect."

"You're being very brave," Magnus praised. Charlotte gave her a weak smile. The smile suddenly faded, her face lighting up with dismay.

"My parents!"

"They're alright, don't worry."

The professor breathed a long sigh of relief.

Magnus tested her limbs to see if they were coming back under her control. They weren't. She bit back a sigh of frustration. She didn't want to admit how vulnerable the immobility made her feel. Helen Magnus was always the strong one. She couldn't burden Charlotte, who was already so out of sorts.

"Are the chairs free standing or bolted in?" Magnus asked.

"Bolted," replied Charlotte, wiggling around a bit to demonstrate. Her chair didn't even waver.

"Damn," remarked Magnus. She'd been hoping Charlotte could shuffle over to her and together they could unravel their restraints.

"Helen," Charlotte said slowly, frowning at her. "Why didn't you struggle when they put you in the chair? In fact… why haven't you moved at all?" Charlotte was getting to know Helen's body language quite well, and something was definitely wrong.

"They tranquilized me," Magnus replied, admitting to herself she was foolish to believe Charlotte wouldn't notice or inquire. "I'm momentarily paralyzed."

Charlotte was struck with fear and horror.

"Only momentarily?"

"Only momentarily. Don't worry."

But she already was. Charlotte couldn't imagine what it was like for someone as strong and vivacious as Magnus to be suddenly immobilized, unable to do anything to affect her circumstances.

"They drugged me," Charlotte blurted. Magnus' eyes grew wide in alarm. "But it was only chloroform or something. They threw me into a van, but I fought them. They held a damp cloth to my face. I don't think I was out for too long."

Magnus ground her teeth together at the image of Charlotte being roughly thrown into a van and driven off.

"Do you have a plan yet?" Charlotte asked. Magnus' body wasn't working, but she knew her mind would be working double time to make up for it.

"Escape."

Charlotte laughed. "Good plan. Thank goodness you're here! I never would've come up with that on my own."

"There's my cheeky Charlotte," Magnus attempted to grin. Her face was only somewhat responsive so it was a rather weak grin, but genuine all the same. So long as she could keep Charlotte distracted, she wouldn't have time to despair.

* * *

_Elsewhere in the building_

"You wanted to see me?" Joe said, warily eyeing his father.

"How long until we can give Magnus the truth serum?"

Joe hesitated. "Safely? I'm not sure. She seems to be metabolizing the tranquilizer very quickly, but I have to keep monitoring her to make sure the rate stays even, and we don't accidentally dose her too soon."

Freeman gritted his teeth. "An educated guess, then?"

"Two days."

"What?"

Joe cringed at the severe tone of his father's voice. "I'm sorry, but we have to be safe. If we dose her too soon we could seriously mess her up. You want information, right? You won't get any if her muscles suddenly atrophy and she loses the ability to talk, or just simply dies."

Freeman glowered at him. The longer he held the two women hostage, the higher the chances the police would find them. He knew people would probably already be looking for them.

"Well," he declared. "I guess we'll just have to try and get answers the old fashioned way."

Joe blinked at him. "What's the old fashioned way?"

Freeman grinned. "You're going to gently persuade them to talk."

* * *

Joe entered the room with trepidation. His father had ordered him to question the prisoners. Why couldn't he just do it himself? Or get one of his cronies? Joe was a scientist, not an interrogator. He had no idea what to say or do. His father had said that the women might respond better to a fellow intellectual, rather than the brawn of his other men. Joe supposed that could be true, but had little confidence that he could get them to admit anything. He wasn't very good with people. He preferred lab equipment, and the stuff that flowed _inside_ people.

"Uh, hi," he said when the two women looked at him. Neither replied, and he smiled nervously, placing the chair he'd brought with him on the ground and sitting.

"My name's Joe."

They remained silent.

"I'm sorry we had to, you know, kidnap you," he stuttered. The British one quirked an eyebrow at him. She was definitely metabolizing the tranquilizer faster than was normal.

"You see we're fighting for a really good cause, here, and you," he said, looking at Magnus, "Are really special!" He felt a now familiar flush of excitement as he thought about her test results. "I just want to talk to you, ask you some questions."

Magnus' lips now curved upwards in a hint of a smile. Where had they found this guy? She was definitely getting a scientist vibe from him. She should easily be able to twist him into giving her more information than she gave away.

"Questions?" she inquired.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I don't know if you know it but you have some incredible insides!"

She couldn't hold back a smirk. A light blush crept over his cheeks and he frowned. "As in your blood, and stuff…" he quickly amended.

"Are you a scientist?" she asked meekly.

"Chemist," he nodded.

"You developed the tranquilizer I was shot with?" Magnus quickly deduced that this was the son Freeman had mentioned.

"The tranquilizer was one of the first things I ever developed," he nodded proudly. He frowned, realizing that so far he was the only one revealing information, and that Magnus had been steering the conversation. "I have several other serums that aren't so passive," he warned, trying to make his voice hard.

"But you can't use them on me till the tranqs wear off," Magnus smiled.

Damn. He hadn't known she knew that.

"I'd estimate, what, two days before you can safely administer more drugs?" she went on.

How could she know that?

He opened his mouth to refute her statement, but found himself blurting "What are you, another chemist?" instead.

"No," she smiled. "A Doctor."

_Of ass-kicking_, she thought, eyes shifting to Charlotte before sharing a secret smile, remembering the day they'd met and the impression she'd made on her young lover.

"Then you must know about the abnormalities in your DNA," Joe surmised.

"Perhaps."

"Were you born with them or have they developed over time?"

She looked steadily at him, but didn't answer. Even paralyzed she was easily winning this battle.

"Have you ever noticed any special capabilities? Heightened senses, or the ability to do things that others can't?"

Magnus let her eyes roam away from him, looking around the room, bored.

Joe stopped for a moment and Charlotte snickered quietly. He felt shame rise up his throat. He was making a fool of himself. He thought of leaving and telling his dad to use someone else to question them, but the thought of admitting defeat so quickly galled him. He didn't need to give his father more reasons to hate him.

"It would be a lot easier for you if you just started talking now," he advised. "You know once we drug you you won't stand a chance. All your secrets will be ours whether you like it or not. Why don't you just tell me now and spare yourself the ordeal?"

"I think I'll bide my time until the drugs, thank you," Magnus responded politely.

He was starting to get frustrated with her obstinacy. If she was a doctor, she surely knew all about her abnormality. She should be proud to be special, to be something more than _normal_ like he was. His father was different, yes, but so far, besides having a good mind, Joe had never exhibited signs of abnormality. It seemed his father's traits had not passed on to him. It was his hope that one day, through his research, he might be able to synthesize something to imbue him with powers. Maybe then his father would accept him.

"We're trying to help people like you, you know," he tried a new tactic. "We want to raise awareness for your cause."

"By blowing up Universities and kidnapping people? Yes, I can see how that will help convince people to support you."

He looked away from her. He agreed with what she said, but he had to support his father, had to believe that in the end, his mission would succeed and abnormals could be free to live their lives as equal citizens.

"What about you?" he asked, changing the topic once more and turning to the professor. He couldn't remember when they'd first profiled her DNA. He knew he'd remember if he'd found abnormal traits in her, but maybe she'd let slip some other kind of secret.

"She's nothing special," Magnus quickly said, diverting his attention back to her. Charlotte felt a twinge of hurt before she realized Magnus hadn't meant it cruelly, but was in fact trying to protect her. If their kidnappers found out about the dormant virus strain in her blood… Charlotte hadn't been compromised by tranquilizers. They could start experimenting on her right away.

If the doctor refused to talk about science, maybe Joe could at least get to know more about her as a person, find a weakness they could exploit.

"What's your relationship to her," he asked, bobbing his head towards Charlotte.

Magnus blinked. "You had men tailing us. I'm sure you've figured it out."

Joe felt heat rush into his face again. Maybe this was a topic he didn't want to delve into.

"How long have you known each other?"

"I don't think that's any of your business."

"Do you see each other often?"

"Also none of your concern."

"You don't seem to be from around here. Where did you come in from?"

"Elsewhere."

"Do you still live in England or are you based in the States?"

"I live from place to place."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"What do you think it means?"

"I have no idea."

"Better move on, then."

Joe growled. This is why he stuck with chemistry! If you didn't succeed with the first try, you could try something else and eventually, it would work out. With people, though, there was never any one right answer. The clock was ticking and his father would soon be demanding results.

"Where do you practice medicine?"

"Around."

"Do you specialize in any one field?"

"Not any one, no."

"Then what are you? A general practitioner? Pediatrician?"

"My skills are varied."

"Do you have your own practice, or work out of a hospital?"

"Some of each."

"Field work?"

She smirked. "You could say that."

"You've been shot."

"Very clever observation."

"How long would you say you have until blood loss becomes a problem?"

She narrowed her eyes at him and he relished in the fact she didn't have a snappy reply to that.

"Long enough to get out of here," she confidently replied a moment later.

Without warning, Joe was hit with a vision of the two women leaping up at him, throwing him aside, and escaping. His father would find him, see his failure, and then… Irrational fear welled up inside of him and he was struck with a sudden, crazy thought.

_No,_ his conscience cried. _You can't do that! It's against everything you are! _But his body wasn't listening to his mind. As if he were being controlled by an outside force his body suddenly lifted up from the chair and carried him towards the professor. She glared up at him, but he was still on autopilot. His arm rose into the air.

Charlotte cried out as her head snapped to the side from a vicious slap.

Joe's hand was shaking as he pulled back, shocked that he'd actually done it. A rush of exhilaration swept through him. He'd never hit anyone before. He'd always been on the receiving end of beatings. It had felt good to be the one in control. He felt a grin spreading across his face as the woman ran her tongue along the inside of her mouth, testing for damage to her jaw, the skin of her cheek bright red. He turned to the other woman, and his smile slipped.

Magnus' face could have frozen liquid nitrogen.

But she was tied down, helpless, and completely unable to do anything about it.

The grin sprang back and he loaded up his arm. This time he drew blood. Once Charlotte's eyes uncrossed, she gathered the blood in her mouth and promptly spat it at him. Helen allowed herself a dark smirk.

_That's my girl_.

Joe was less than pleased. He wiped his face angrily, looking askance at the stains on his shirt. "Stupid bitch!" he yelled, winding up again. This time he closed his fist and connected solidly with her solar plexus. She gasped, her breath leaving her in a rush as she doubled over as far as her bindings would let her. She righted herself, gritting her teeth together hard to keep from groaning in pain, or saying something that would provoke him further. She couldn't stop the moisture gathering in her eyes, but she refused to let any of it fall. Not in front of Magnus. She'd acted the nervous fool last time they'd been in a situation like this. She was a different person now. A stronger person.

"What do you hope to gain from all this?"

Helen's cold voice cut through Charlotte's musings and, thankfully, distracted from her pain.

"We don't want to hurt you guys!" he exclaimed, oozing frustration but avoiding her question.

"You just want to stick some needles in us and get us to join your cult."

"We're not harmful!"

"You'll pardon me for not believing you."

A loud bang led everyone to look to the door as Freeman strode into the room. He quickly deduced why Charlotte's face was red.

"Joseph..." he said, wonderingly. "Did you hit her?"

Joe looked down at his feet, nodding.

Freeman laughed. Joe looked up, confused. His father strode over to him and clapped him on the shoulder. "Maybe you are my son after all!"

"What? I thought you didn't want violence!"

"Oh, Joe… are you really still so naïve? We couldn't have the regular old professors going back to school all banged up and beaten, but these two ladies here…" he swept his hand between Magnus and Charlotte, "Are no ordinary teachers."

To illustrate his point Freeman walked to Magnus and gave her a fierce backhand. Her teeth knocked together and she accidentally bit her tongue, but she didn't make a sound. Her head stayed listing to the side, Magnus unable to right herself, but she still managed to level Freeman with one of her best glares. His eyes narrowed at her as he stretched the fingers of his punching hand.

"See what I mean?" He turned to his son, who nodded.

"So what do you want me to do?" Joe asked.

"I want you to prove yourself, son. Get me some answers."

Joe gulped. His father had never given him an opportunity like this, and he knew one like it would never come again. He could not screw it up. He closed his eyes, gathering his courage for what he would have to do. When he opened them, he was surprised to see his father still there, his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised.

"You're staying?" Joe sputtered.

"Just in case you need any help with the warm up."

Joe swallowed heavily, shifting his gaze between the two women. The professor was clenching her jaw hard. He could tell she was having a difficult time, but she was keeping it together. He was reluctant to look at the British one again, but with his father watching…

Her face was still colder than ice.

"I appreciate your need to grow a pair before you do this," Freeman broke through his thoughts, "But we're on a tight schedule here. People will be looking for them."

Joe nodded, wracking his brain for a new plan, a strategy for interrogation. He wasn't good with people.

"I like to make a big first impression," Freeman was fed up with his son's leisurely pace. "Observe."

He walked over to Charlotte with malicious intent in his eye.

"No!" Magnus yelled. "Whatever you're about to do, do it to me."

"Helen, no…"

"Charlotte," Helen barked, "Let me handle this."

Freeman eyed the older woman, intrigued by her spirit. He knew hurting the professor would be worse for the doctor emotionally, but he was struck with curiosity. This woman acted like she'd been in such situations before, and had obviously survived just fine. He sensed a challenge, and Cameron Freeman never backed down from a challenge.

"By your request," he nodded and changed course to move in front of Helen. His eyes roamed over her form in a quick survey. His punch was quick but hard, straight to the bullet wound in her shoulder. She bared her teeth, her brows knitting, but she didn't make a noise beyond a hiss of air.

"You've got a special one here," Freeman informed his son.

"I'm flattered," Magnus said wryly.

Freeman smiled at her as his hands went to the bindings of her left wrist and arm. Once they were loose he reached up and jammed his fingers into her bullet wound, ensuring that when he fully removed the bonds, she couldn't try any sudden punches. Her eyes watered and even under the influence of the paralyzing drug her body flinched to the side, trying to escape the fingers prying into torn flesh, reawakening a flow of blood. Charlotte had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out for her. Things were getting very bad, very fast.

"Come here," Freeman summoned his son, who dutifully came to his side. "Humerus, ulna, and radius," Freeman named the three bones of the arm, pointing to the general direction of each. Joe nodded. Freeman's hands clamped down on Magnus' elbow and wrist like vices. He lifted her arm and brought it crashing down into his waiting knee.

Magnus shrieked as her forearm snapped with such a force that she was surprised jagged bone didn't break out of her skin. Her body jerked violently in the chair. The tranquilizers may have immobilized her but her sensory perception was just fine, and the pain was incredible. Joe flinched and stumbled backwards, shaking, horrified yet awed at the raw power of his father's hands. Freeman let the useless arm drop, banging against the side of the chair as he wiped his hands together as if washing them.

"Easy," he grinned. His grin turned to a frown as he saw his son's ashen face. "We're trying to start a revolution," Freeman said, darkly. "Did you think that would happen with a please and thank you?"

Joe shook his head fervently.

"Then buck up and do what needs to be done."

Joe looked over at the professor. She hadn't just had her arm broken, yet tears streamed down her face and her lip was bleeding from where she'd bit right through it. She looked up at him, and the pure hatred that seethed from her took him aback. In her eyes, he was the scum of the Earth, a despicable criminal. But he wasn't! Their mission was for peace, for equality! Why couldn't these insufferable women understand that? He looked away from the big, watery brown eyes and into the blue ones. He walked forward to take his father's place at her side. She looked up at him as if daring him to do his worst. He reached down, his fingers hovering above her broken arm, not quite touching. Magnus commanded her heart to stop pounding. His fingers closed around her arm and lifted it into the air, twisting it around as he went, feeling her bones shift at his touch. Her body was rigid as a long, low howl escaped her.

"Goddamn you son of a bitch!" he heard the other woman screaming at him. His father patted him on the shoulder again.

"I'll leave you to it," Freeman said, then exited the room.

Joe let the arm drop as soon as the door closed behind his father. His heart was racing, his breathing hard, his whole body shaking with adrenaline. He had enjoyed hitting the professor, yes, but this? This was torture, and it was a lot to take in on his first day as a fighter. His stomach was in knots and he felt ill. He watched silently as the Magnus got her breathing under control, her eyes burning with tears but her face morphing once more into a mask of strength and fortitude. Her blue eyes immediately sought out those of her partner. Charlotte was crying, but sniffed angrily and straightened her back when Magnus looked at her, nodding that she was ok. Magnus nodded back. Then her gaze returned to his. Even watery and shining, they made him want to avert his eyes.

But he couldn't. He had to do to this. He had to harden himself and become the soldier his dad had always wanted.

_To be continued…_

* * *

**A/N**: Phew. Definitely back on familiar turf. Not that the family drama and romantic angst wasn't fun, but... I now have TWO kick-butt ladies to whump… muahahaaaaa.

Get those reviews in people! Or donations!

MS xoxoxo


	9. Chapter 9

**This chapter is dedicated to** "boriquacrunch" who ALSO personally donated a full $20 to Sanctuary4Kids! She saved you guys almost a week's worth of waiting :O We also finally got 20 reviews for one chapter!

The challenge for this chapter: Get another full 20 reviews... and... if anyone can prove they donated a mere $10 to Sanctuary4Kids (Come on people, I know we're all poor but that's what, two lattes!) anyways, if anyone donates a measly little $10, I will personally email you the next chapter BEFORE it comes out :O Yes, you could have it before anyone else! EEEEP! And trust me... you're going to want it, after the way this one ends ;) Heh. Alternatively, if you donate $20, you get the next chapter dedicated ALL TO YOU, and everyone will see who got the next chapter up for them and they will LOVE YOU! As will I. As will all the kids you've helped with your donation!

* * *

_Previously, on "Magnus goes to School"_

Joe let the arm drop as soon as the door closed behind his father. His heart was racing, his breathing hard, his whole body shaking with adrenaline. He had enjoyed hitting the professor, yes, but this? This was torture, and it was a lot to take in on his first day as a fighter. His stomach was in knots and he felt ill. He watched silently as the Magnus got her breathing under control, her eyes burning with tears but her face morphing once more into a mask of strength and fortitude. Her blue eyes immediately sought out those of her partner. Charlotte was crying, but sniffed angrily and straightened her back when Magnus looked at her, nodding that she was ok. Magnus nodded back. Then her gaze returned to his. Even watery and shining, they made him want to avert his eyes.

But he couldn't. He had to do to this. He had to harden himself and become the soldier his dad had always wanted.

* * *

_A while later…_

"Helen!"

The voice was persistent, but Magnus didn't want to open her eyes just yet. The darkness was warm and pain free.

"Helen, please!"

The voice was so pleading, though, so sweet. She wanted to tell the voice that she was ok.

"Helen, damn it, WAKE UP!"

One of Magnus' eyes flew open and her body jerked. Pain assaulted her from all angles. Her second eye, which had almost healed from Friday night, was now swollen shut.

"Oh thank God…" Charlotte breathed.

Magnus turned her glassy eye towards her lover. "Wha…?" Her jaw wasn't working right.

"You've been unconscious for about half an hour," Charlotte informed her. Magnus' eyes widened in surprise. She rarely lost consciousness, never mind for that long.

"Are you alright?" Magnus asked urgently, grinding out the words through an incredibly sore and already stiff jaw.

"I'm fine. He focused on you."

Magnus squinted at Charlotte, trying to see for herself if that was true but something was blocking her vision. She blinked rapidly.

"Is there something in my eye?" she groused, blinking her eyes rapidly to try clear the annoying obstruction.

"Blood." Charlotte answered shortly.

Oh.

"How bad am I?" Magnus asked.

"You don't remember what he did?"

Magnus tried to shake her head. "Head's a bit fuzzy," she admitted. She didn't mention the pounding headache that was sending waves of nausea coursing through her. "I'm sure it'll come back, but until then…"

"Um, well…" Charlotte took a deep breath. "I think you have some broken ribs. Lots of bruising… including some spectacular ones on your shins. Freeman brought him a baseball bat… finished things off with a hit to your head. Thus the blood. And a probable concussion."

"So the usual blue-plate beat up special," Magnus joked.

"Then of course there's the broken arm and the fact that you were shot."

Helen looked blearily down at her disfigured arm. Right. Crap. Joe had, for whatever reason, decided to tie the broken arm down again. She gritted her teeth as she experimentally flexed. Through the searing agony she discovered her limbs were still mostly unresponsive. Bloody effective tranquilizer. Speaking of blood, she could tell Freeman had reopened her shoulder wound because blood had managed to seep through her shirt, all the way down to her trousers. Had some of that blood come from her head wound, as well? Her clothes were definitely past the help of dry cleaning. She could clothe an entire town with all the torn, bloody clothing she'd amassed over the years. She glanced across the floor, noting scattered splotches of blood, wondering if she'd coughed it out, or if it had been squeezed out of her skin with fists and baseball bats. Then there was the head wound, and memory loss… Head wounds could be very fickle things. Memory loss, loss of motor function, impaired speech, random black outs, hallucinations… the list went on. You could have permanent brain damage without even realizing it. She always hated dealing with head wounds. The uncertainty was terrifying, and now that she was the victim… She could only pray that her thick skull had protected her and that no serious damage had been done.

"Well it looks like I probably won't be fighting our way out of here," Magnus admitted. She saw Charlotte bow her head and was sure there were tears in her eyes.

"Charlotte," she said quietly. "I'm fine."

Charlotte snorted and looked up at her in disbelief. She looked dazed, and her movements were jerky. Magnus could tell she was in shock.

"Ok, maybe not fine, but I'll live. I've had worse."

"You sound just like you did on Grand Comore."

"What a first date that was, eh?"

Charlotte huffed a quiet laugh, and Magnus swelled, mission complete. Silence fell and without the distraction of Charlotte, Magnus felt her injuries start clamoring for attention. Definitely _not_ fine. Damn. She willed her brain to focus on a plan for escape, but she couldn't quite string her thoughts together. She absently noted that Charlotte had a few bruises she hadn't seen before. She'd lied. He hadn't just focused on Magnus. The doctor opened her mouth to berate her, but then couldn't remember what she was going to say. Her thoughts drifted away from her, becoming more and more scattered, and suddenly she was alarmed.

"Charlotte," she gasped, wondering if a broken rib had punctured her lung.

"Yes?" Charlotte's voice was laced with sudden panic.

"I think I'm going to… to pass o…"

Her head slumped forward against her chest, out cold.

"Damn it Helen!" Charlotte swore.

The last few hours had been some of the worst of her life. She had tried to talk to Joe, reason with him, get him to swing his attentions to her rather than Magnus, but while he did, on occasion, Magnus would always call him back to her.

_Damn her for trying to protect me!_ Charlotte glowered in her mind. _And damn me for needing her to do it. She's always protecting everyone… but who protects her?_

Charlotte had never been so humbled in her life. Seeing Magnus sacrificing herself like she had… Charlotte didn't think she could love Helen any more, but now she did. She owed Helen her life so many times over... It looked like she might have to start paying back the debt. Helen was in bad shape, and though Charlotte's belief in her was vast, she didn't think Magnus would be the one to get them out of this mess. She would have to be the hero today.

The problem was she had no idea how.

* * *

Magnus came too again after only five agonizing minutes. Her head wasn't any clearer, but she managed to control the nausea, thank god. She didn't think her throwing up everywhere would help Charlotte's current state of emotional well-being. The professor herself was watching Magnus' every move like a hawk, trying to ascertain her true state, correctly assuming Magnus' assurances of being fine were bogus. Both women's pretenses were broken when the door opened.

Charlotte's heart leapt into her throat, but neither Joe nor Freeman entered the room. A man neither woman had seen before entered with a tray of food and a large glass of water. He knelt and placed it on the floor between them before moving to Magnus' side. He pulled out an empty syringe and a sanitized hand wipe. He efficiently cleaned a patch on Helen's unbroken arm and filled the syringe with her blood. He then moved to Charlotte's side.

"Try anything funny and your girlfriend suffers the consequences," he warned before untying her. He left the room without another word. As soon as the door closed she leapt up and ran to Magnus, ignoring the disorientating head rush that flooded her at abruptly standing after so long in the chair. She fell to her knees beside Magnus.

"Don't untie me," the doctor immediately commanded when she saw Charlotte's eyes go to her bonds.

"But…"

"You heard him," Magnus said quietly. "They're watching us through the camera right now. If you untie me they'll be back here in minutes and we won't get this opportunity again."

"What opportunity?" Charlotte dropped her voice low.

"Come closer," Magnus whispered. Charlotte complied, moving so that her cheek hovered just beside Helen's. Helen's warm breath against her neck was comforting. Soft lips pressed against the skin of Charlotte's neck and she wondered what Magnus was up to. Not that she was complaining.

"In my right shoe," Magnus breathed, closing her lips around Charlotte's ear lobe. "Tucked into my sock, under my pants." Her lips moved to a sensitive spot behind Charlotte's ear and the professor sighed, her eyes fluttering closed. "There's a knife." Charlotte hummed in acknowledgment, Helen's lips on her skin the perfect cover up for her reaction. Charlotte's hands moved to rest on Helen's knees. One hand started to slip down her leg. "Not yet," Magnus whispered urgently, biting down gently. "Food first. Move to my other side when you feed me. It'll block the camera's view."

Charlotte laid a quick kiss to Helen's neck before moving away and retrieving the tray of food.

"You don't think it's spiked or anything, do you?" Charlotte asked, suspiciously eyeing the food. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she hadn't eaten since their small breakfast.

"No. They can't give me anything right now, and if they'd wanted to give you something they'd have brought separate trays, and strict instructions as to who should eat from which. Or just stuck a needle in you."

Charlotte nodded and cautiously brought the plastic fork up to her mouth.

"It's actually not bad," the professor commented a few minutes later as she chewed on the stew like food.

"Better than prison food," agreed Magnus. Charlotte cocked her head in question, but Magnus smiled and shook her head. "Stories for another time." Charlotte nodded and continued alternating between eating, and slowly feeding Helen. Magnus balked at the degradation of having to be fed, but the gentle look in Charlotte's eyes as she helped her softened the blow. She didn't have a choice, anyway. She needed whatever strength she could get, and starving herself for pride would not help anyone. After a final sip of cleansing water, Magnus sighed.

"Thank you," she said.

Charlotte nodded. "No problem."

"How can I pay you back?"

Charlotte searched Helen's eyes, and knew what she was planning.

"I have a fair idea," Charlotte replied, pushing the tray aside and leaning towards Magnus. A hand gently cupped Helen's bruised jaw before Charlotte's lips descended onto hers. The kiss was a distraction, meant to mask the hand that slipped lightly under Helen's pant leg to retrieve the knife, but it was also a comfort to both of them. They leant each other strength and renewed their determination to escape and get back to their weekend together. The taste of Charlotte's lips was a balm to Magnus' pounding head. The professor carefully hid the knife in her back pocket before raising her hand to frame Helen's face, ignoring the blood that got onto her hand. After a minute or two she reluctantly pulled back, sweeping a few strands of red, sticky hair back from Helen's face. She wanted to ask Magnus what to do next, what she was supposed to do with the knife, but the door banged open and she lost her chance.

"Enough," said the man who'd brought them their food. A hand grabbed Charlotte by the shoulder and hauled her backwards. She rose to her feet and glared at him. He tensed his fist and looked at Magnus. Charlotte sighed and walked back to her chair, hyper aware of his eyes on her, praying the man wouldn't see the imprint of the knife in her pocket. When no cry of alarm came, she assumed she was safe. She sat down and let him re-secure her to the chair. He picked up the tray and quickly vacated.

Charlotte immediately got to work. She silently gave thanks for the fact that she was facing the camera and thus able to carefully wheedle the knife from her back pocket. She got to work on her bindings, hoping that the small knife would be able to cut through the cord. Magnus started into a story of a time she'd visited Canada for a ski trip and ended up lost in the middle of the woods with a rather dashing member of the RCMP. The story gave away no personal information that would be useful to their captors, but served to distract Magnus from her own pain, entertain and keep Charlotte calm while she worked, and hopefully distract or bore anyone who might be watching them through the camera. After a while, though, Magnus started to tire. Her shoulder seemed to have finally stopped bleeding, but she knew she'd lost a lot of blood, not only from her arm, but her head wound. Combined with the rest of her injuries, she knew she couldn't keep up her strong front for long.

They were left alone for a good while. Neither knew why, but both were thankful. If they'd known the reason, however, they wouldn't have been so relieved.

* * *

While Freeman was more than pleased at Joe's newfound interrogation prowess, the young man still hadn't managed to get any useful information. He couldn't believe the professor had stayed clammed up while he kept beating on her girlfriend. Joe secretly acknowledged the women's strength. He wouldn't have been able to hold out. His father didn't think further beating would yield any results, so had decided to throw Joe in his lab with the order to either create an antidote or dissolvent for the tranquilizer, or a truth serum that could be used in conjunction with it.

Joe muttered angrily as he worked. His father was asking him to do the impossible. There was no way he could magically conjure something up just because Freeman told him to! He usually spent months, years, developing new formulas. He couldn't do anything in a day under the best of conditions, never mind now, with his knuckles red from punching, his insides queasy, and his adrenaline still pumping. He was jittery and easily distracted, feeling like he'd never felt before.

A thought popped into his mind.

When developing new products he always tried to make them benevolent, as harmless to the person being injected as possible. If he were to ignore such restrictions and just let himself create, regardless of the potential harm… He grinned, suddenly focused, and got straight to work; ignoring the tiny part of his mind that still recoiled at how far he'd fallen that day.

* * *

Joe worked feverishly, but so did Charlotte.

Within a surprisingly short time the professor felt her bindings give way. Her eyes flickered to Magnus'.

_What now?_ She silently asked.

Magnus thought about how she could communicate her ideas to Charlotte without speaking, but never got the time to decide. Charlotte had been looking at Magnus' haggard, pain pinched face when she had an idea. The younger woman looked up, directly into the camera.

"I have to go to the bathroom," she announced. Magnus looked at her quizzically. Charlotte implored her silently, asking for her trust. Magnus nodded weakly, closing her eyes against a wave of nausea. She wished she could have a bit more water. At the thought of holding a tall, cool glass, her fingers twitched. Magnus took a breath. Her mobility was coming back!

A few minutes later the door swung open to admit the man who'd brought their meal.

"I was on my dinner break," he fumed at her. "Make this quick so I can get back to it."

Charlotte's heart picked up speed. Dinner break? Did that mean less people wandering the halls? Everyone's guards lowered, just a bit? She desperately hoped so, because what she was about to do would only work once.

"I'll try my best," she promised, opening her eyes wide and smiling shyly up at him. Magnus pursed her lips, knowing exactly what Charlotte was doing.

The man grunted and knelt down behind Charlotte to untie her hands. Her fingers clenched around the knife. His eyes widened for a split second as he saw her hands open, dropping the rope she'd cut apart. In the next instant an elbow smashed into his face and he knew no more.

"Good shot!" Magnus praised as Charlotte's hands flew to her feet, quickly freeing her legs and making sure the man was fully unconscious before leaping up and running towards Magnus.

"Thanks," Charlotte said as she quickly made work of Helen's bonds. Magnus' face screwed up and she groaned softly as Charlotte sawed at the rope holding her broken arm down.

"I'm sorry," Charlotte apologized repeatedly as she worked.

"It's okay," Magnus choked.

They were both breathing heavily by the time Magnus was free. They had no idea where the camera was transmitting to. It had taken several minutes for someone to come after Charlotte declared her need for the restroom, but he could have been summoned from somewhere else to answer the call. They just had to work as fast as possible and hope for the best.

"How well can you move?" asked Charlotte, tucking the knife into the waistband of her jeans.

Magnus summoned all her will and commanded her body to move. Her torso lifted off the back of the chair and she smiled in triumph. The smile melted as she found herself falling forward, unable to catch herself. The movement caused pain to burst forth from her ribs and she cried out as Charlotte caught her, a jostling halt to her fall.

"Apparently not so well," she wheezed, her eyes squeezed shut against the pain.

"That's okay," Charlotte assured her, while internally she cursed. "I've got you."

Charlotte carefully wrapped an arm around Magnus' good shoulder, pushing her back and securing her on the chair before leaning back. Helen's brow was resolutely knit.

"Leave me behind," she said.

"Are you kidding me?"

"They don't want you as much as me. You have a way better chance at escaping without me slowing you down."

"I'm not leaving you behind," Charlotte stubbornly shook her head.

"Charlotte, I'm serious. Go. Get in touch with the Captain, he can arrange to take this whole bloody operation down."

"And in the meantime what would happen to you?"

Magnus's jaw tensed.

"Exactly," Charlotte said. "I'm not leaving you behind."

"Charlotte…"

"No, Helen," Charlotte snapped. "You're wasting what little time we have so shut up and follow my lead."

Magnus blinked in surprise and admiration. "Yes ma'am."

Charlotte quickly helped Magnus to stand, discovering that the doctor could coordinate her feet into a vague shuffle. Charlotte was immensely relieved she wouldn't have to fully carry Magnus. The professor walked them to the door, opening it slowly. She surveyed the hallway for a second, establishing that it was clear before starting to lumber down the hallway. Magnus mumbled instructions to her as they went, thankful that her memory, while still missing some time of the interrogation, still recalled the route she'd taken from the entrance of the building. There was probably an alternate way out, somewhere, one which wouldn't take them through bad-guy central, but they didn't have time to check. Every step jarred the wound in her shoulder, the broken pieces in the arm that hung limply at her side, and the damage inside her stomach. As they walked along, shin splints started to become debilitating. She was gasping for breath with every move, but Charlotte kept moving, fire in her eyes. Magnus was astounded that they hadn't been apprehended yet.

They arrived at the bottom of a staircase. Charlotte looked apologetically at Magnus.

"I love you," the professor whispered before reaching down and picking Magnus up in a fireman's carry. Magnus screamed behind clenched teeth as her body twisted and bent around Charlotte's body. Charlotte powered up the stairs as fast as she could, swearing she would work out more after this, her face covered in a sheen of sweat when they finally reached the top. A closed door stood just a few feet away. According to Magnus, they only had to go through that door, then down two more hallways before they were free. She gently lowered Magnus to the ground, letting her sit with her back against the wall to catch her breath. Tear marks streaked through dried blood and her chest rose and fell shortly with labored breathing.

"Helen…" Charlotte whispered, pained. The doctor's blue eyes opened to look at her.

"We need to keep moving," she gasped back. Charlotte gulped. She was used to working under pressure. You couldn't work with deadly viruses and not be good at maintaining decorum. This kind of pressure, though, was nothing like working in a lab, no matter how dangerous. She looked at Helen's face again, steeling her resolve, and nodded, wiping her sweaty forehead on her arm before moving to help Helen up again.

The door opened.

The man who walked through it, one of the men who'd frisked Magnus when she'd first entered the building, stopped short at the sight of the two bedraggled women.

Charlotte reacted out of pure instinct.

She lunged at him, grabbing his arm before he realized what was happening and using all her force to swing him around behind her. She let go of his arm and he flew forward. She kicked out, propelling him even further. He tripped over Helen's prone legs and went careening down the staircase. She ran back to Helen, watching with dismay as he crashed and tumbled his way down, coming to rest, still, at the bottom.

"Oh my god Helen," Charlotte choked, "Do you think he's…" she couldn't say the word.

"I'm sure he's just unconscious," Magnus said firmly. If Charlotte froze up they'd never get out of here. "We need to keep moving!"

Charlotte looked at her with slightly dazed eyes. The sight of Magnus' bloody face snapped her back to reality.

"Right," Charlotte nodded.

A minute later the women were past the door and moving down the next hallway. This would be the hardest part. As far as Magnus could tell this was the central area of the building, with the meeting hall, entrance, etc. If they were going to be caught it would be here. They rounded a corner into the last hallway and Charlotte stopped dead. A man and a woman turned to them in surprise.

"Boss!" they cried in unison.

Magnus closed her eyes in defeat. They'd been so close!

A door halfway down the hall opened and Freeman came out. He saw the escapees and his face went dark.

A door two feet away from them burst open and Joe poked his head out.

"The yelling is not helping my concentration!" he growled.

Once again Charlotte surrendered herself to the madness of impulse. She let Helen drop to the floor, ignoring her cry of pain as she stepped forward. One hand closed around the collar of Joe's shirt, hauling him forward while the other reached into the waistband of her jeans. In the blink of an eye she held him securely against her, the knife poised against his jugular.

"Let us go," she commanded fiercely.

Freeman's eyes could have burnt a hole through a wall, but Charlotte held fast. She knew Freeman wasn't a fan of his son, but he relied on the young man's scientific genius to give him his chemical weapons. Whether Freeman liked it or not, Joe was vital to everything he did. He could survive the setback of losing Magnus and Charlotte, thought it would be a hard pill to swallow. There were lots of other professors at Yale, and surely another abnormal would eventually stumble back into his realm. Replacing Joe would be a very difficult and time consuming hassle. You couldn't buy or bully the kind of loyalty a son gave a father.

The hallway was thick with tense silence.

"Let them pass," Freeman spat. Joe felt his knees go weak in relief and Charlotte's lip curled in contempt at his feebleness. How badly was Magnus hurt? Yet she was still fighting.

"Pick her up," Charlotte ordered Joe. He tensed, and she prepared herself for what she might have to do.

"Fine," he agreed tersely.

She knelt down with him, moving the knife to the base of his spine, keeping light contact to dissuade him of any sudden moves while he gingerly picked up Magnus. Charlotte brought the blade back to his neck and together they all walked awkwardly down the hallway. Charlotte felt every pair of eyes boring down on her like a physical force, just waiting for her to screw up, to falter. They would pounce on her in a second. She let Magnus' soft whimpers fill her ears and propel her forward. They would get out. They _would_.

Charlotte moved to Joe's side, reaching out and opening the final door. Dark nighttime greeted her. They'd been held captive all day. She wondered if it was still even Sunday, or early Monday morning.

"Keep moving," she prodded Joe when he paused in the doorway. They filed outside. Freeman, who'd followed their walk down the hall, held the door open, watching them as Charlotte continued to lead them down the street.

"How far are we going?" asked Joe.

"Until I tell you to stop," said Charlotte, pressing the knife just a little further in.

"Okay, okay," placated Joe. "It's just that she's kinda heavy."

Charlotte glared at the back of his head.

They made slow progress, but Charlotte finally felt hope, a giddy belief that they'd actually made it out okay.

Then Andrew, the sniper who'd shot Magnus, turned a corner on his way home from a late night run to the closest convenience store. His boss had asked him to get a big pack of batteries. He'd had to wait behind a crew of stoned teenagers buying crap food, and so was coming back later than he'd wanted to, moving at a brisk jog to get back before his boss got angry. He ran straight into Joe. With a surprised yelp, Joe fell backwards, throwing Magnus to the side so she wouldn't land on top of him. Magnus' bark of pain was lost in the confusion of the moment to all but Charlotte.

"Woah!" cried Andrew, stumbling backwards.

"Andrew, help!" Joe cried. Charlotte threw her body on top of his, wrestling him back on the ground, anger suddenly flooding her, ignited by Helen's final cry of pain. She let the rage and loathing give her strength, fighting Joe with all she had; wanting to hurt him back for all the pain he'd caused her lover. She allowed him no chance to fight back before she was brandishing the knife against the back of his neck once again, seeing red, so tempted to press it in just a little bit further… It took all her will power to reign herself in.

"Don't move, Andrew," Charlotte counseled, "Or Joe's done."

Andrew nodded, his hands in the air, looking down at the twitching figure of Magnus. He instantly recognized her as the woman he'd shot. Faced so unexpectedly with the consequences of his actions, his stomach flipped.

"You're going to let us go, Andrew," Charlotte instructed. "Do you understand?"

He looked into her hard brown eyes. He squinted down at Joe, clearly seeing his simpering face even in the dim light of the distant streetlamp. He nodded. Maybe, by letting the women go now, he could gain some fraction of redemption for his earlier actions. He'd grown to hate taking orders; it was one of the reasons he'd quit the army. He'd had to do too many things he disagreed with. He still wasn't quite clear on how he'd ended up taking orders from Freeman. Seeing the disheveled form that was Magnus, he resolved not to take orders anymore.

"Let Joe go," he said.

Charlotte's hackles rose.

"Take me instead."

She frowned. What was this guy's angle?

"If you get much further away with Joe, Freeman's going to come after you with force. He doesn't really care about me. He won't pursue us as hard."

Charlotte narrowed her eyes with distrust.

"I swear I won't make any trouble," Andrew pleaded. "I doubt Joe could carry her much further anyway,"

Charlotte knew that was probably true. Andrew looked much fitter than Joe, and hadn't been carrying her for the last while like Joe had.

"Do it," Magnus rasped.

Charlotte's eyes whipped to Helen, who she'd thought had fallen unconscious. The older woman's approval took the decision away from Charlotte. She stood, hauling the man up with her but keeping a hold on his collar. He stretched his limbs a bit, glaring at her. Her lips curled and she suddenly drew her fist back, punching him as hard as she could. He dropped back to the ground with an enraged shout, blood pouring from his nose.

"I think you broke it!" he whined.

"Get out of here," she snarled.

He stood up shakily, hands cupping his nose.

"I won't let my father forget this," he swore before turning and running back to headquarters.

"I'm sure he won't forget that you let yourself get compromised so easily," Charlotte muttered to his retreating form. She turned about face.

Andrew had already picked up Magnus.

"Where to?" he asked.

Charlotte had been unconscious in a van when she'd been brought to the compound.

"The closest main road," she decided. Andrew nodded and took off back the way he'd just come from. She followed, knife raised and ready, just in case. They emerged onto a wide street about 10 minutes later. Andrew was fit, but carrying Magnus still slowed them down. Charlotte was disappointed to see the street virtually empty. She'd been hoping to find an area with lots of witnesses in case they were pursued. Not that public view had dissuaded them from kidnapping her and Magnus in the first place. She looked up into the sky and was shocked to see it was starting to grow lighter. It must be around 5 or 6 in the morning already.

"Where's the closest hospital?" she asked. She knew Magnus hated being taken to regular hospitals and avoided it at all costs but in the condition she was, Charlotte had no choice.

"20 minutes," Andrew replied.

That wasn't so bad.

"In a car."

Charlotte blew out a breath. She could call a cab? That would require an explanation as to their conditions, and probably end up with the cops getting called. Wait a minute, the cops!

"Do you have a cell phone?" she asked him urgently.

"Of course," he said, halting to reach into his pocket and pull it out. She grabbed it from him and swiftly dialed 911.

"I need Captain Grenville of the New Haven police!" she declared as soon as someone answered.

"I'm sorry ma'am," the voice at the other end stated patiently, "Could you please state the nature of your emergency?"

"My friend has been shot, drugged, beaten, and has several broken bones is my emergency!" she yelled into the phone. "We're also being pursued by the people who did the damage!"

The woman on the line started to stutter a response but Charlotte bulldozed over her, speaking in her clearest, most commanding tone. "I need you to transfer me to Captain Grenville, _right now_. Tell him it's Helen Magnus and I promise you he will take my call."

The phone went silent as the emergency response worker hesitated.

"NOW!" Charlotte cried, crushing the phone in her hand. She heard a few buttons being clicked, and then the phone began to ring. It was answered on the second chime.

"Magnus?" groaned a tired voice. "Where the hell have you been? I've been looking for you since Yale started blowing up. I haven't even gone to sleep yet!"

"Captain! This is Charlotte Benoit, I'm a friend of Helen. We were kidnapped during the explosions. We were held captive but escaped. Helen's in really bad shape, and we're still being pursued!"

"Where are you?" his voice was instantly alert and aware. Charlotte looked at Andrew.

"We're on Seymour, close to Helmcken."

She repeated his words to the Captain.

"I'll have someone there in six minutes."

The phone went dead and Charlotte handed it back to Andrew. Magnus' head lolled on his shoulder and made Charlotte want to either throw up, cry, or both. Now that the police had their location she knew they had to stay where they were but she was itching to move. She felt the need to keep pushing forward until… well, until what she didn't know. This was her first break out from captivity. What did one do, after escaping? Where did they go? How did they deal with what had happened to them? She glanced around nervously, looking back to where they'd come from, expecting bad guys to start pouring forth from the alleyway at any second. Every dip and twist of shadow had her thinking someone was hiding.

Andrew saw her anxiety. Guilt continued to gnaw at him, knowing he'd caused a significant part of the problem. "Let's wait over here," he suggested, gesturing towards a small gap between two buildings where lamplight didn't penetrate. "We can come out when the police arrive."

Charlotte nodded and started towards the tiny hiding place. Anything was better than loitering around in the middle of the street. Her jittery nerves made her steps uneven and she ushered Andrew to walk in front of her so he couldn't further witness her uncontrolled state. She knew she would crash soon, and it wouldn't be pretty. So long as Helen was safe, though, she didn't care. She briefly wondered what they were going to do about Andrew, but let the issue slide. They would deal with that later.

She felt a small prick in her lower leg and shook it angrily, thinking she'd kicked up a little rock or been bitten by a summer fly. She absently glanced down and spotted something sticking out of her leg. It had a tiny red feather on the end of it. She gasped.

_NO!_ She thought wildly. _No, this can't be happening! The police aren't more than a few minutes away!_

Another prick hit her in the arm and she knew she was done.

_I'm so sorry, Helen,_ she thought as her vision went black and she fell to the ground.

_To be continued…_

* * *

**A/N:** Well darn it. You all thought they'd escaped, hadn't you! MUAHAHAHAH. Perhaps my favourite chapter ending yet.

Now get those donations in so you can find out what happens :O

MS xo


	10. Chapter 10

**EH MAH GASH it's the final chapter…!**

* * *

_Previously, on "Magnus goes to School"_

Charlotte felt a small prick in her lower leg and shook it angrily, thinking she'd kicked up a little rock or been bitten by a summer fly. She absently glanced down and spotted something sticking out of her leg. It had a tiny red feather on the end of it. She gasped.

_NO!_ She thought wildly. _No, this can't be happening! The police aren't more than a few minutes away!_

Another prick hit her in the arm and she knew she was done.

_I'm so sorry, Helen,_ she thought as her vision went black and she fell to the ground.

* * *

Consciousness returned slowly. The first thing Charlotte registered was that she was lying down on something lumpy and uncomfortable. It wasn't too cold, though. She tried to stretch but found her limbs completely frozen. Her throat seized with panic, her eyes prying open as her breathing grew rapid and she continued to struggle against invisible bonds.

"It's ok," a voice said, but she ignored it. It wasn't ok, she was paralyzed and in the hands of the enemy once more! So help Freeman and his cronies, when she got the use of her body back she was going to kick their asses so hard they….

"Ms. Benoit, please, it's ok, you're at the hospital!"

Wait… what?

Her eyes slid to the side and she saw a man in a white coat peering down at her. He certainly looked like a doctor. She heard an insistent beeping, and realized it beat in time with her racing heart. She was hooked up to a heart monitor. Another figure moved in behind the supposed doctor. He was in a police uniform, but it could be a trick!

"Charlotte, I'm Captain Grenville," he brought out his badge and showed it to her. "It's good to finally meet you." She stared at the badge suspiciously for a while, alternating her looks between it, the doctor, and the policeman. She finally decided they were telling the truth, and let her body go slack as she stopped fighting.

"Helen…" she breathed.

"She'll be ok," the policeman promised her. A sob of relief burst from her lips.

"What…?"

"We got to you just in time," he told her. "Freeman's men were hauling you off when the squad cars arrived. They tried to run but we got them. By that time you, Magnus, and your friend had all been hit with multiple tranquilizers."

"Not… our friend," Charlotte mumbled. Her tongue felt thick, her mouth stuffed with cotton. She could feel the gentle fingers of sleep caressing her, coercing her back into its tender grasp. She fought it, wanting to know more, but the drugs in her system were too strong, and she was pulled back under. The Captain frowned at her words.

"Keep an eye on her Doctor," he patted the doctor on the shoulder. "I need to go up the security on our "not" friend."

* * *

When Charlotte came too again, she panicked once more. After only a few moments, however, she calmed down, remembering quickly where she was. The beep of the heart monitor comforted her. She opened her eyes and saw the same doctor, now sitting on a chair making notes on a clipboard.

"Hey," she said. He looked up at her, uncrossing his legs and leaning forward.

"Hi there," he smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit better," she said.

"Glad to hear it!" he nodded, making a note on his chart. "You were hit with some pretty strong tranquilizers."

"I noticed."

"I'm hoping they'll wear off within about three days," he said optimistically.

She grimaced. Three days, minimum, of lying flat on her back, staring at the ceiling with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company.

As if he could read her thoughts, the doctor spoke. "We can move you to Magnus' room, if you'd like."

Her eyes flew to his. "Really?"

He nodded. "We had to do surgery on her arm and shoulder, as well as tend to the rest of her injuries, but she just came out of the OR, and is not in critical condition. She's very lucky her broken ribs didn't puncture either lung."

"What about her head?" Charlotte asked, remembering the blood and the memory loss.

"There was some swelling along the inner cranial wall, but it's thankfully already receding. I can't find any evidence of permanent damage."

Charlotte closed her eyes in weary relief.

"So long as you don't upset her or give any cause for her heart rate to spike, you should be fine in the same room," the doctor said.

"I promise I'll be good," she would have bobbed her head eagerly if she could.

"I thought you would," he grinned. "Oh, I have to warn you though…"

Charlotte stiffened.

"We needed to stitch up the head wound. To get at the impact site we had to give her a little haircut."

Charlotte blanched.

"Nothing too bad," he quickly assured her, "Only a little bit of the surrounding area. The rest of her hair should be able to cover the bald patch."

Charlotte blinked her eyes in acknowledgment, a steady stream of internal curses being flung at her paralysis. "Thanks for warning me."

15 minutes later Charlotte's bed was wheeled into a different private recovery room. Several guards stood outside the door, but the Captain himself was inside, and beckoned them in with no fuss. Once Charlotte's bed was placed beside Magnus', the doctor raised the back of Charlotte's bed so she could easily look at the older woman, a few feet to her right. Charlotte smiled gratefully up at him.

"Thank you so much…" she paused.

"Greg," he supplied.

"Thank you, Greg," she said earnestly.

"Think nothing of it," he replied, waving her off. "She'll be out for a while yet," he nodded towards Magnus. "You need anything in the meantime?"

Charlotte looked pointedly at the aging Captain who stood beside Helen's bed. "Just some answers," she replied. Doctor Greg nodded knowingly, and left the room, closing the door behind him. Grenville waited patiently while Charlotte quickly took stock of Magnus' state. The 275 year old was very much unconscious, a strip of white bandaging running around her head. Her face was pale, the bruises on it stark in the unforgiving hospital light. Her black eye had returned with a vengeance. Her left side was swathed in bandages from shoulder to fingertips. Charlotte couldn't tell if her ribs had been set, or if they'd done anything to her legs which lay hidden underneath a thin blanket. Her heart monitor beeped steadily, though, and Charlotte let the rhythm soothe her. Satisfied that her lover would indeed be ok, Charlotte turned her attention to the waiting official.

"You said you got some of Freeman's men?" Charlotte started. They must have already done some questioning if they already knew Freeman's name.

The Captain nodded. "We currently have three men and a woman in custody. Several of them have already had an initial interview. We'll get into heavy questioning soon. We're hoping to lay charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, assault, and unlawful human experimentation, at the very least. It seems they've been running their little operation for several years, so we'll most likely find a few other things to charge them for as well." He paused and scrubbed a hand over his tired face. "I can't believe I had an abnormal faction using chemical warfare to take control of Yale professors operating right under my nose."

"They were being pretty subtle about it," Charlotte comforted him. "Until they snapped and started blowing up stuff, that is."

"Trust Helen Magnus to have been the trigger that made them go overboard," he sarcastically remarked, looking at the unconscious woman.

"She always does manage to find trouble," Charlotte said fondly. She wished she could reach out and touch her, just rest her hand on her arm or something. But she couldn't even lift a hand to raise a glass of water. She couldn't dwell, though, or she'd go crazy. "When are you taking down their headquarters?" she asked, looking back to the policeman.

"We secured the area right after we picked you up, thanks to some intel from Andrew. My men should be going in…" he glanced down at his watch. "Well, they should be back soon, actually. It's 1 in the afternoon, by the way, on Monday. We wanted to wait and ask you ladies some more questions about the layout, defenses, how many men there were, etc, but given the speed at which they cleared out The Raven on Friday, we knew we had to get to them as fast as possible. Andrew's information seems to have been valid. My men are conducting some on-site questioning." He shifted his chair closer to her. "You say Andrew is not your friend?"

Charlotte shook her eyes back and forth.

"Then who is he?"

"I have no idea," she admitted. "He's one of Freeman's guys, as far as I know. We ran into him while escaping. I had Freeman's son as a hostage and he was carrying Helen, but was tiring really fast. Andrew volunteered to take his place. That's all I know."

"Interesting," mumbled the policeman. "Maybe he saw the end was coming and hoped to lower his sentence by helping you."

Just then the walkie talkie at his belt went off. Charlotte listened as the team reported in, detailing a successful bust.

"We've got a pretty impressive stash of weapons, and a lot of scientific equipment," the officer on the other end said. "We'll need a hazmat team to clean that up."

Grenville got out a notepad and pen and started writing notes.

"We have three men in cuffs, and one casualty."

Charlotte's heart stopped. The man she'd flung down the stairs! Oh god no, she'd actually…

"Seems the boss got upset when his men didn't come back with the hostages. There are burn marks all over the man's face in the shape of hands. I don't know how that's possible, but…"

Charlotte slumped into the bed in relief. She hadn't killed anyone. She didn't know what she'd have done if she had. She registered the fact that the man had hand-shaped burn marks. She'd been wondering what Freeman's abnormal abilities were. She wondered why he and his men, assuming they were all abnormals, didn't use their powers more often. During their interrogation, in particular. Maybe they weren't in full control of them, or had a useless power like the ability to grow your hair really fast, or shoot air freshener out of your nose. The professor realized she'd tuned out of the conversation, and perked up her ears.

"Update me on the hour," Captain Grenville was saying.

"Roger that."

"Grenville out."

He placed the radio on his thigh, looking down over his notes. Charlotte wanted to ask more questions, but wasn't sure what to ask. She was feeling tired again, and just wanted to see Helen open her eyes and confirm that she was, in fact, ok. Doctor's promises were well and good but she wanted HER doctor's promise. Charlotte's lips twisted upwards. Helen would surely insist that she was "fine" despite the obvious evidence against such a claim. She let herself drift off to sleep with the image of a head-bandaged, arm-slinged, paralyzed Magnus trying to get out of bed and go for a run.

* * *

"Ms. Benoit…Ms. Benoit, I'm sorry to have to wake you, but there are some visitors here who are rather anxious to see you."

Charlotte opened her eyes slowly, less than pleased with having her lovely dream of Helen in a hot tub interrupted. She performed her now usual test of limb function. Still completely useless.

"Who is it?" she asked through a dry and raspy throat. A glass of water was quickly held in front of her and she gratefully sipped at the straw.

The door to their private room burst open.

"Charlotte!" Anne screeched. Her daughter winced at her shrill voice. She was soon assaulted with a crushing hug from her mother, as her father stood nervously twisting his hands at her side.

"Are you ok?" Anne cried, pulling back and framing Charlotte's face with her hands. "We've been frantic! You disappeared, and then Helen disappeared, and they wouldn't tell us anything! Then suddenly you're in the hospital, but they wouldn't let us see you!"

"As we explained, Mrs. Benoit," Doctor Greg walked up to the bed. She really needed to learn his last name. "We needed to make sure your daughter was fully in the clear, and able to handle having visitors."

Anne let go of Charlotte's head, forgetting she was paralyzed. Charlotte's head thudded softly against the pillow as it fell back. "We would have been happy just watching her sleep!"

Charlotte knew the doctor had been keeping them out for her sake, allowing her to question the Captain and get some answers, as well as spend some time with Magnus. She gave him a smile that she hoped conveyed her thanks. He nodded.

"I'll leave you alone, now," he said, turning around. "But please keep things quiet. Ms. Magnus is still in a very delicate position."

Anne frowned, having forgotten about the other occupant of the room. She warily turned around and glanced at her daughter's… friend. Her heart lurched a bit, and she scowled. She might have extremely mixed feelings about the British woman, but she certainly didn't wish her any harm. She looked like a mess, and if what the police had told her was true, she'd incurred all her injuries while trying to protect Charlotte. She turned back to her daughter.

"What happened?" Anne wanted to hear it from her.

Charlotte pursed her lips, figuring out how much detail she could give them, and how much she'd have to gloss over.

"After leaving you guys in the lab, I went looking for Magnus," she began. "I was grabbed, and thrown into a van. They hit me with some kind of chloroform. When I woke up I was in a little room, god knows where, tied to a chair."

Anne's hand rose to her mouth in horror. Laurent quickly brought her a chair and helped her sit, before grabbing a chair for himself. Weren't these things supposed to happen only in movies? Not in real life, and certainly not to their precious daughter.

"I was left alone for a while. The next time I saw anyone, they had Helen. She let herself be taken. They shot her with some kind of tranquilizers that left her completely paralyzed." She paused, thinking again of how strong Magnus had been the entire time, despite being the overwhelming underdog. "It turns out our kidnappers were… extremists, who were trying to infiltrate Yale to help spread their political agenda. They were planning on kidnapping me Friday night, but Helen unknowingly thwarted their plans. They didn't like that very much, thus why they wanted her so badly. They, uh…" she paused again, licking her lips. She did not want to rehash the next part already, but her parent's expectant eyes compelled her. "They questioned us. They were going to… hurt, me, but Helen convinced them to let her take the brunt of it all."

Charlotte stared down into her lap. The image of Helen's arm snapping flashed through her mind, the sound of her scream. The baseball bat cracking into her shins and beating her torso before smashing against her head. Her neck had snapped forward so fast… Her head had stayed folded against her chest, unconscious, as blood poured out of the back of her head. It seeped down her neck, joining the stains on her shirt from the bullet, dripping onto her lap while Charlotte sat watching, powerless to help her, wondering if she'd be next, the metallic smell of blood filling her nose.

Bile rose up from her stomach, burning her throat and she involuntarily gagged. She'd forced herself to stay strong in that little room, but suddenly the fear and revulsion she'd kept pent up was pouring forth. Laurent stood up from his chair, searching around the room and finding a small garbage can between the two hospital beds. He held it up with one hand while he gripped Charlotte's shoulder with the other, forcing her onto her side to throw up over the edge of the bed.

When she was done he gently placed her onto her back, taking a tissue out of his pocket and wiping her mouth. Her face burned with mortified embarrassment. So much for being strong. Her eyes flickered to Helen's still figure, thankful she was still out, and hadn't witnessed the spectacle.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know where that came from."

"Oh honey," Anne breathed, taking one of Charlotte's hands in her own. Her eyes glistened with tears. "I can't imagine what you went through."

There was a lump in Charlotte's throat. "I wouldn't have made it without Helen."

"From what the police told us, though," Laurent said slowly, "You were the one who actually made the escape?"

Charlotte shook her head. "Only because Helen took all the beating. Even then, she was the one who encouraged me, gave me the means to free myself, and stayed lucid long enough to give me the directions out."

"Give yourself some credit," her father softly reprimanded. "You apparently took out several of their men?"

Charlotte was surprised how much information the police had gotten out of the arrested men. And how much they'd shared with her parents. They could certainly be persuasive.

"I was just lucky," she mumbled in response. She was getting a headache, and wished she could raise her hand to rub at her temples. The older couple must have sensed her discomfort, because Laurent stood once more.

"We'll leave you be for a while," he said with a pointed look at Anne, who was already opening her mouth to protest.

"Thank you," Charlotte nodded quickly. Anne was crestfallen, but she tipped her head in understanding.

"I love you sweetie," Anne whispered, leaning down and laying a soft kiss on Charlotte's forehead. "We're so glad you're ok."

"Love you too," Charlotte said thickly. She watched her parents leave the room before letting her eyelids flutter shut. She appreciated their concern, but right now she just needed quiet. She turned her face to the side and tiredly blinked, freezing when she saw blue eyes staring back at her.

"Helen!"

"Hi," Magnus grated out, trying to smile.

"Hey!" Charlotte called out. "We need some water in here!"

The door immediately opened to admit a nurse with some ice chips and a glass of water. Magnus accepted a few ice chips, savouring the cool sensation of them melting and soothing her throat before indicating that she was ready for some water. The nurse left soundlessly when Magnus was finished.

"Hi," Magnus tried again, her voice stronger.

"How long have you been up?"

"Just a minute."

She hadn't seen her throw up. Thank god.

"We got out?"

Charlotte realized this was the first time Helen had regained consciousness since their escape.

"Yeah," she confirmed.

"Bad guys?"

"In custody."

Magnus smiled and bowed her eyes to Charlotte. "Way to go."

"It was a team effort."

"Hardly," Magnus snorted. "I flopped about like a moaning fish while you tackled people and negotiated with a mob boss."

"I wouldn't describe it like that," Charlotte argued.

"You saved my life, Charlotte," Helen quietly insisted.

Charlotte stared into Helen's blue eyes, drinking in the sight of them, finally open.

"It's a life worth saving."

* * *

They spent the next few minutes idly chatting, purposely avoiding talking about their ordeal. Charlotte said nothing of the way she'd broken down when Joe had left Magnus bleeding and unconscious, afraid that Magnus would never wake up. Magnus didn't bring up the shame she felt, the guilt at not being able to get Charlotte out herself, for having let her get captured in the first place. Neither woman confessed their desire to have participated in the police raid, itching to give a little payback. Instead, Magnus drifted off to the sound of Charlotte's voice as she told a story about a visit to Disneyland.

The next time Magnus woke up, Mr. and Mrs. Benoit were waiting for her. Her body instantly tensed, mentally wincing. She was afraid of what they would say, and was not yet feeling quite ready for this kind of battle. Her body still throbbed in so many places, the stitches on her head itched and her only method of relieving herself was less than comfortable, and completely out of her control. She'd hoped to delay this conversation for at least another day, but it seemed the choice had been taken out of her hands. Never one to shy away from confrontation, she gathered her strength.

"Good morning," she nodded towards them, letting them know she was wake and inviting them to say their piece. Their daughter was sound asleep in her bed, for which Magnus was thankful.

"How are you feeling?" Laurent asked, seeming genuinely concerned.

"Much better, thank you," she responded, wiggling her fingers to show she'd at least regained some movement. "They hit us with quite a lot of tranquilizer." Possibly twice as much as her first dose, Magnus theorized. Though her metabolism's slow processing of the drug could be due to the fact her body was busy healing everything else.

"I can't…" Anne's voice trailed off. Her hands were shaking. "I can't imagine what you went through."

Magnus kept her voice even. "I've been through worse. Please don't be upset on my account."

Anne frowned, not understanding how a doctor could have been through worse, but realizing she shouldn't push the subject. "Charlotte told us," she said instead, "How you convinced them to stay away from her. How you protected her."

Magnus wanted to shrug. "Protecting people is what I do."

"Maybe it is, but this time it was our daughter you protected, and to us, that means, well…" Anne was still having a hard time speaking.

"We're happy she has you," Laurent finished for her.

Anne looked skyward, chewing her lip for a moment before looking back at Magnus and nodding. "Thank you, Doctor."

"It's Helen, please," Magnus shook her head.

"Helen," Anne nodded. She reached forward and took Magnus' hand. "Welcome to the family."

* * *

Magnus regained fully mobility after a long three days of bed-ridden boredom. She'd called her team at the Sanctuary, confirming everything that Captain Grenville had told them on her behalf. She'd assured them that her and Charlotte were fine, and asked that they give the women a few days to deal with things before they came to visit. After another three days she was itching to get out of bed and get to work on something, anything, but under the stern orders of Doctor Greg, whose last name was Wendall, as they'd finally learned, she was forced to stay in bed to let everything else heal a bit more. Charlotte was selfishly thankful that Magnus had to stay with her while her own body came under her control once again. They managed to avoid any serious talk for the first two days, but with the gradual return of control, the women felt strong enough to confront the issues of their kidnapping.

"Do you remember when we ran into Andrew?" Charlotte asked, "When we were escaping?"

"Vaguely."

"Joe threw you to the ground when Andrew knocked him over. You cried out in pain."

Magnus nodded, choppy memories coming to mind.

"I got angry," Charlotte admitted, looking down at her hands. "I was so angry at him, for all he'd done… I wanted to hurt him, Helen. I wanted to _really_ hurt him." She looked back at Helen with a lost look. She wasn't a violent person, she never had been. But their kidnapping had opened new doors within her, and shown her things about herself that she'd never wanted to know. She _could_ kill someone, she now knew. The thought scared the hell out of her.

"Charlotte," Magnus said intently, "You're not a bad person for wanting to hurt him. I think most people would have wanted to, in your situation. You can't focus on that, though. You have to remember that you _didn't_ hurt him. When it came down to it you were able to keep control. I've seen so many people give in to split second impulses and end up doing things they regret for the rest of their lives, but you didn't. After everything that happened, you still let him go. That says more about your character than anything else you were forced to do that night."

Charlotte thought of the broken, unconscious body at the bottom of the staircase.

"You got us out of there without a single casualty, and limited bloodshed, and I am so proud of you." Magnus said. "That's what you have to remember. That's what you need to be proud of."

"But I know," Charlotte whispered, "That if I had to… I would have. I would have killed someone to get you out of there."

"Knowing and doing are very different things," Magnus argued. "You didn't kill anyone. And I pray to god that you never have to."

Charlotte nodded and fell silent, adding Magnus' words to her internal rationalizations. Magnus sighed and let her continue to fight with her conscience. Helen and Charlotte had now spent a total of 14 days together. The first two had involved being held hostage, almost getting stabbed, being blown across an airport runway, and more. The second time Magnus had seen Charlotte she'd basically assaulted her, frantic and half-mad with lust thanks to a stray herd of nubbins. The few days after that had been spent largely in a laboratory. The time she'd finally tried to have a normal weekend with her young lover, celebrating her birthday, there'd been a bar brawl, surprise parents, more explosions, kidnapping, beating, drugging, and several days spent in a hospital. Their track record was not good. With a sinking heart, Magnus worried she might already have to give the speech she'd given to so many others. She'd been hoping to have at least a little more time with Charlotte… even a few years. But she couldn't let her own selfish desires keep putting Charlotte, and her family, in harm's way. She would not be responsible for bringing sweet Charlotte to the point of being a murderer.

"Charlotte…" her voice was wooden, as was her heart.

Charlotte's ears perked up at the tone of voice, and she turned to Magnus.

"No," the professor immediately said.

"Charlotte…" This time it was a warning. Charlotte's eyes filled with tears.

"No!" she said, her voice breaking only slightly. "There is no way we are breaking up over this."

"Charlotte, I…"

"No!" Charlotte sat up. "You are going to shut up and listen to me, Helen Magnus," she said fiercely. "You are selfish, controlling, and often astoundingly arrogant."

Magnus' eyes rose up into her hairline.

"After 275 years I suppose you're used to feeling superior, and always getting your way."

Magnus opened her mouth to argue but Charlotte plowed on.

"But I don't give a damn how old you are, or how experienced. No amount of years gives you the right to dictate how other people live their lives, or what choices they make, however stupid."

Magnus' lips thinned into a tight line.

"I know that being around you puts me in danger, puts my family in danger. But do you see me running away? No." Charlotte put up a hand to forestall Magnus' protests before they even began. "And don't give me that line about 'I've been through worse.' I know you have. I know that I probably will in the future, too. But I don't care. There is no way I can go back to my normal, boring life now. I'm not saying I want to quit my professorship at Yale, but knowing what's out there, knowing that I might be involved in stuff like this again… it's exciting. I know it's horrible to find life and death situations exciting, but I can accept now that I do. It makes me feel alive, feel like I'm part of something bigger than I ever thought possible. That I can directly help people in a way I never thought possible. I've learned a lot of things about myself since I met you, Helen, but you're not the one who's caused the change. These things have always been inside of me, you're just the one who opened my eyes to them. And it's not ruining or corrupting me, its letting me become more, become the person that maybe I was meant to be."

She finally paused, taking a few breaths.

"I know how hard it is," she continued in a gentler tone, "For you to let yourself love people. I can't fathom the pain of seeing everyone eventually die, or drift away, or age… Maybe it's the most selfish thing I'll ever do, but I won't let you cast me aside. It'll hurt you when I die, whenever that may be, but eventually the pain dulls, right? Memories fade? New lovers come along? I only have one little life, Magnus. The memory of you will never fade for me. You've ruined me for other men. Or women… I don't know. Whatever, that's beside the point." She paused again.

"None of what's happened this weekend has changed my mind about wanting to be with you. I understand and accept the dangers. Remember, they wanted me to begin with; this really had nothing to do with you. You were just here at the wrong time. It was my fault you got hurt so badly."

Charlotte could tell Magnus was still not letting up, and blew out a frustrated breath for both Helen's stubbornness, and her own inability to sum things up.

"What I do with my life is my choice," said the young woman. "You can't tell me to just leave you be, throw me aside like a pet you no longer want, no matter how noble your intentions. I've chosen to love you, and be with you. I'd hoped you felt the same way about me, though I don't think I'll ever understand why you would love me, of all people. And now that my parents have accepted you…"

She was floundering now, unsure of how to continue. "If you don't actually love me," she said, her voice wavering, "Then I'll swallow my pride and leave. It'll be the hardest thing I'll ever do, but I'll try. If you do love me, though… Please, please give me the chance to make my own decisions about what's good for me."

She fell silent, a million words still running through her mind, but all of them seeming redundant. She could only beg so much.

"Love isn't always enough," Magnus said quietly, and then went silent, staring at the wall across from her bed, her face hard. Charlotte swallowed the lump in her throat, feeling her heart already starting to fracture. She thought of what she would say to her parents. After all she'd put them through, from her relationship with Helen, to the chaos at Yale, to their final, shocking acceptance of Helen... All for nothing.

"Yes, the pain dulls, and the memory fades," Helen started quietly, "But it still hurts so much, Charlotte. You understand some of the dangers I go through in my normal, business life, but love? Letting myself love? You will never come close to understanding how much it hurts. How all those faded memories still swell together to make one, never-ending ache, tearing at my soul."

Charlotte's stomach dropped further. Magnus didn't have the right to tell her what to do, but nor did she have the right to ask the doctor to knowingly put herself through that kind of pain, again. As Charlotte had been saying since the beginning, she wasn't really worth it. Charlotte started to envision her life from now on, alone. Her parents would worry about her, as usual, but secretly her mom would be glad that Helen was gone, no matter how accepting she'd become. Devon would still be there at Yale, reminding her every day of the normal, happy family she'd never have. She would hear about a "crazy" person thinking they'd seen a bizarre creature and know they were actually right, but not be able to tell anyone about it. Her life would still be better than lots of people, she supposed. She had a job, and a home. She'd just be alone. Well, she'd done just fine on her own until now, she could do it again. Glancing over at Magnus, seeing her blue eyes and long hair, even limp and unwashed from their days in the hospital, she knew she was kidding herself. She just couldn't let Magnus know that.

"A while back, I was stuck with Will in a cave in Boliva," Magnus suddenly said. "There was this water… it made us get a little, shall we say, testy, with each other. He was more honest with me than he'd ever dared be. He said he thought I was so jaded that I needed the risk of death to hold my attention."

She looked at Charlotte. "I think he was right. All my years of seclusion gave me a lot of time to think about my life. All the choices I'd made. There were times, sometimes years, where I began to make reckless choices, where the only time I felt alive was when I was near death." She didn't like talking about the darker times in her life, and so rarely did so. Charlotte knew that, and listened with rapt attention.

"You've changed that," Helen said. "It's been so long since I've had anything resembling a working, romantic relationship, and I fear I've done terribly so far, but over the last few months I've found myself looking for life, not death. I wake up in the morning excited at the prospect of another day, not dreading the continuous, never ending struggle that is my life. I look forward to talking to you, to seeing you, to sharing another adventure with you. You remind me of everything I'm fighting to protect. I tell myself every day to stop, the warning bells on high alert, reminding me of the other times I've let this happen…" She looked into Charlotte's eyes. "But god help me, I don't want it to stop. I don't want to let you go."

"Then don't!"

Helen's face was pained. "What if you do get hurt, Charlotte? What if horrible things happen to you, and it's my fault?"

"It won't be your fault," Charlotte said resolutely. "Because I chose it. Whatever happens, know that I chose to follow the path you showed me. It's not like you forced me to fall for you, I did that all on my own, and quite easily, I must say, despite your efforts to keep me away. You're the strongest person I've ever known. I know you'd be able to keep going."

"Damn it…" Magnus whispered angrily. Hope bloomed in Charlotte's heart. "You might end up hating me," Helen said.

"Not a chance."

"Never say never."

"Ok, fine. Maybe something crazy will happen and I'll end up bitter and hateful. But we don't know that. We can't plan the future on farfetched what if's and maybes. We can only base our decisions on the information we have here and now, and right now I know that I'm crazily in love with you."

Helen glowered at her before turning gingerly over onto her side, facing away from Charlotte. For several minutes Charlotte's heart twisted and her stomach churned. Finally Magnus turned back to her.

"Come here," the doctor ordered.

Charlotte slowly eased her body off the bed. She'd regained full mobility, for the most part, but her body was weak from lack of use, stress, and everything else that had happened. She lowered herself into the chair that always stood between their beds for visitors. Helen reached out with her good arm and touched Charlotte's face. Helen's eyes were watery and haunted, but determined. She'd made her decision.

"I love you," she stated simply. Nothing else needed to be said.

Charlotte's body sagged, her face turning into Helen's hand as tears sprung up in her eyes and fell down her cheeks. Helen's thumb wiped them away. Charlotte leaned down and kissed her, as she'd been wanting to so badly for days. Helen kissed her back.

* * *

Two hours later, Magnus' team arrived. She could only imagine what the hospital staff thought of her motley crew, marching down the hallway towards the much talked about "private room" that so many police and doctors had been going in and out of the last few days. Magnus smiled wryly and affectionately as Will, Kate and Henry trod through the doorway. Her eyebrows rose when they were followed by the ever impeccably dressed Nikola Tesla.

"Well, Helen!" the vampire said with much exuberance, "I always figured you liked it rough, but if this is what you end up like after a romantic weekend away…" he shook his head and set his eyes on Charlotte. "You know darling," he drawled, "You could be as rough with me as you want, and not leave a scratch." He ended with a wink.

Groans and eye-rolling prevailed throughout the room, Tesla grinning throughout the barrage.

"Dare I ask who's in charge at the Sanctuary with you all coming here?" Magnus laughed at her team.

"Oh don't worry, everything's under control," Will promised, avoiding giving an actual answer. She narrowed her eyes at him but let it pass, too happy at seeing her team. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed them, even after just a few days.

"I'm flattered you were all so concerned," she admitted.

"When that Grenville guy reported that you said you were 'fine' we knew something serious had happened," Henry piped up.

"Figured we better all come, just in case the local police missed anything and we had to do some clean up," nodded Kate, rubbing her fists together.

"I'm sure they did just fine," Helen defended her old friend. "But now that you're here…"

Her team grinned. They weren't used to having Magnus go off on solo missions, and felt the need to help with this one in any way they could, even though it was essentially done already. Although it was supposed to have been a normal weekend and no one could have foreseen the events, they all felt bad for not having been there when the action had gone down.

Several pairs of eyes turned to look at the one person in the room who hadn't spoken yet. Charlotte was picking nervously at the edge of her blanket, feeling like the odd one out amongst the family that was Magnus' team and coworkers.

"So," Will took charge of the conversation. "We hear we have you to thank for still having our boss."

Charlotte shrugged. "I helped a bit, yeah."

"Oh professor," Tesla sighed, "As attractive as the whole humble and coy bit is, you've earned gloating rights on this one. Own it."

Charlotte blushed.

"Do I even need to follow through on my birthday present?" Kate asked. The young woman had offered to give Charlotte specialized fight training. Charlotte had been wary but excited about the prospect.

"Oh I definitely still need the present," Charlotte assured her. "All my supposed fighting was using the element of surprise, and basic instincts."

"Well we'll train those instincts right up," Kate grinned.

"So the receptionist mentioned that we're not the first visitors to see you guys?" Henry changed the subject.

"No," Magnus confirmed. "We, um… Charlotte had some visitors."

"I bet your friends were all worried about you," Will smiled.

"It wasn't any friends, actually," Charlotte said nervously. The Captain, at her request, had kept any friends from being allowed to visit. "It was my parents."

The group was silent for a moment.

"You 'met the parents', did you Helen?" Tesla's face lit up in delight at the prospect of Magnus being put in her place by a pair of elderly mortals.

"I actually met them on Saturday," Magnus replied uncomfortably. She did not feel like divulging all the details of the weekend. Her team instantly picked up on the tension and backed off.

"I'm sure they're very lovely people," Will smiled at Charlotte, trying to end the conversation.

Charlotte grimaced and replied "Yeah."

"So!" Tesla clapped his hands together. "Where can a guy get a nice bottle of red in this place?"

"It's a hospital, dude!" Henry said disbelievingly.

"Honestly, Nikola," Helen shook her head ruefully.

"Exactly!" Tesla protested. "I'm sure at least half the people in this place could use a drink right now. I know I, at least, want to celebrate my dear friend's recovery after yet another of her madcap adventures. I swear if I could have heart attacks, you'd be the one to cause it," he glared at Magnus, who smiled broadly back.

"I would be more than happy to participate in a break out," the doctor suggested mildly.

Conniving grins sprouted on her team's faces, and Charlotte stood up straight in her bed.

"Do you want to incur the wrath of Doctor Greg, though?" Charlotte asked.

"I'm sure we can handle his ire," Magnus said confidently. At that very moment, the doctor in question strode into the room.

"And what, pray tell, are you planning to do that would raise my ire?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Busted," chuckled Kate.

"We're going to break out," Magnus succinctly informed him.

"Are you now?"

Magnus crossed her own arms, the picture she presented only slightly less intimidating due to the fact that one was in a cast and sling. A silent battle of wills began. Finally Greg narrowed his eyes and nodded.

"Break away," he said.

Kate and Henry high fived as the Doctor walked out of the room.

"I like that guy," Henry announced.

"He lost, though!" Kate said.

"Yeah, but he still had the guts to go up against her in the first place."

"And he's managed to keep Magnus in here for several days already," Will added.

"A feat few have ever managed," Tesla intoned.

"Well he did," said Magnus, carefully throwing off her blankets. "And I've gone half mad because of it. Let's get out of here!"

Magnus' face lit up as her team brought forth a duffle bag she hadn't seen, conveying fresh clothes to both of them before exiting the room. Once they were dressed, Magnus having grudgingly accepted some help from Charlotte, they exited the room to find her team loyally waiting in the hallway. As they walked through the hospital and towards the doors, freedom beckoning beyond, she found she couldn't stop smiling. She shuffled along at the back of the group, her friends' conversation never stopping, everyone excited to be back together once more. She was still hurting, both physically, and from the weight of the conversation she and Charlotte had had that morning, but when Henry turned around to ask Charlotte's opinion on something, and the woman whose hand she was holding answered with a snappy reply, she knew everything would be ok.

Her family was all together, and together, they could face anything.

**The End**

* * *

**A/N:** Aaaaah! And there we have it! What a ride it's been! What was supposed to be a steamy, amusing little one shot became the longest single fic I've written yet… woopsies! How DOES that happen! I just love writing this pair. I hope you've enjoyed reading about them :) Stay tuned for a *hem* faaaabulous new Helen/Charlotte story that, while able to stand alone, could be taken as the epilogue to this fic and will be posted separately. Not going to tell you the name, but as a hint: It's the next story I'll be posting. Keep your eyes sharp and put me on "Author Alert" to be the first to know! Warning: It will be smutty. As in ridiculous, shameless happiness. Something I rarely do so read it while ya can!

**If we get past 200 reviews for this story...** I might be persuaded to post the epilogue waaay ahead of time ;)

**The Charity challenge for the epilogue:** If you prove you donated $10 to Sanctuary4Kids… I will send you a big juicy sneak peek of the epilogue! WAY ahead of schedule ;)

Thank you especially to those who stepped up and reviewed like crazy during my Sanctuary4Kids drive. I'm honoured and humbled to report that we've raised over $200 so far! Just by reading and enjoying the show we love! The power of fandom. You guys are amazing. I actually able to tell Amanda Tapping herself about our little drive – she was _very_ grateful.

I'd like to especially recognize: **racyatsun**, who first pledged to donate $1 for every review, if I could get up to 50 reviews. Well… I did! THANK YOU for your amazing donation of $50.

Thank you to **kristamaxine11** who was the first to donate $20 to get chapter eight posted ahead of schedule.

Thank you to **boriquacrunch **who next donated $20 to get chapter nine posted.

Thank you to the beautiful, wonderful, stunning people by the names of **gateworldrocky** , **arones_66**, and **csigurlie07** who all donated $20 to get chapter ten emailed to them ahead of time.

Thank you to all those who reviewed every chapter and helped rake in those $'s.

And finally thank you to everyone who reviewed even once. Every single dollar counts towards giving kids around the world a better life.

I hope you all enjoyed my little story :) *massive epic hugs all round*

… And don't forget the epilogue, coming soon, which will still have the charity drive open ;)


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